Codex Tenebris by OLDD WVRMS

Codex Tenebris offers nearly an hour of instrumental doom with some post metal edginess. All the tracks are long, the riffs are heavy, and the atmosphere is dark throughout. There is a blend of experimental and industrial going on here that keeps the sound fresh and interesting and involving, without getting away from the heaviness that drives the whole album. I really dig this.


"A l'or, aux ombres et aux abîmes" is the 2nd track (and the shortest at just over seven minutes) and it offers some of the best guitar work of the album. The riff picks up and then slows down again to switch up the pace of the doom, and ends with a relentless pounding before finishing with atmospheric effects.

Dig the very atmospheric video for the lead single "Ténèbres":


The third track "Misère & Corde" might have the most post metal sound to it with plenty of breaks and changes in tempo, and when the guitar solo kicks in to deliver the darkness, it just fits right in. This isn't really the kind of album that lets itself drift into the background. It insists on keeping your attention and rewards you with a variety of dark sounds.

Next to last is "La vallée des tombes" which is the slowest song on the album without losing your interest or the edginess that you hear throughout the album.

"Fléau est son âme" finishes things off with an epic 15 minutes that starts slow and moody and works its way through everything Oldd Wvrms has to offer, and gives a spoken word chant on top of that. This band really delivers.

One of the tags on the album's Bandcamp page is "ritual ambient" and while I think these songs are a little heavy for ambient, there is something about that tag which really works for me. Here is how the band describes their sound:

« Fear is the price for imagination » : these words can describe the descent into the depths of this overwhelming instrumental landscape, drawing his inspiration from all things obscure... Feel the serpent crawl upon your flesh and embrace the haunting emptiness within.

Oli : Bass, Cho : Drums, Ben : Guitar

Codex Tenebris by OLDD WVRMS is on Cursed Monk Records where you can grab the CD.