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Metal Assault in association with CWG Magazine presents

Track Listing: Noxious Vermin, My Friend Dura Mater Obsidian Fissure Plague House In Amethyst, Through Moldavite Trellis Of Thorns Hollow Thorax Of The Gilded Eye Loathsome Little Fiend Trepanation & Bliss Architectural Necrosis Casting The Molten Sea Chrysalis Wound

Levi/Werstler's shredathon instrumental album "Avalanche of worms", out now on Magna Carta Records, is the musical lovechild of industrial metal band Daath's two guitarists, Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler. Like fellow Atlanta, Georgians - Mastodon - this album is meant to be listened to in one long gulp, instead of tasted in bite sized pieces. Levi recommends, "It is best heard when you have 41 minutes straight to devote," and I would agree wholeheartedly. This is an album, expressly crafted as an album, one big epic concerto.

"Avalanche of Worms" is like a metal jam record that partway through decides to hit the major keys and go Al Di Meiola meets Steve Vai on us. A taste of classical mixed with darker, more experimental soundscapes, and always that memory somewhere in there that we're listening to the two guitarists from freaking Daath - it's more a compositional extravaganza, rather than simply a headbanging metal record. It gets heavy and sludgy with all sorts of bassy, overdriven parts, but then we'll get tremolos and arpeggios and melodic, beautiful, classical bits and pieces, weaving in and out of one another like some kind of genius masterpiece.

This is 41 minutes of metal meets every guitar-heavy genre in the world mayhem, executed with the most precise and brilliant amount of skill. Unique, original, different ... groundbreaking? "Avalanche of Worms" crosses over into so many different places. There are no vocals whatsoever, the thing is completely guitar-driven, and yet it's not quite a solo record. This isn't Jeff Beck or something, this is a collaboration between Daath's greats and the others they brought to their little musical fusion family in making this album - Cynic/ ex-Death drummer Sean Reinert, bass player Kevin Scott and on keys, Eric Guenther of From Exile.

Read the rest of the review here.