Scald are a truly atypical metal band from Northern Ireland formed by Peter Dempsey (bass), Paul McCarroll (drums), Michael Tierney (drums) and Glyn Smyth (drums). Yep, no vocals, not even samples, which for a heavy band is already quite remarkable, and a daring choice anyway. "Vermiculatus" features a single 47-minute track and a video developing the band's concept, based on the "metaphorical representations of the parasitic worm as psychological states" (to quote the press sheet for lack of further information). I found the audio part really interesting, though not always coherent and fluid. Their label defines them "progressive post-grind", but bear in mind that, except a few blast beats and frantic passages, Scald usually opt for heavy, complex mid tempos - let's say this is more similar to Neurosis than to Discordance Axis or Nasum. The oppressive, sludgy parts are skilfully varied with geometrical breaks - I'd be tempted to use the "math rock" tag if it didn't sound ridiculous or misleading in this context. The weak parts are, for me, the more traditionally heavy metal solos, and, here and there, a bit of baroque pomp - "progressive" in the negative sense of the term. But I'm making this sound worse than it is: it's actually a very nice disc of original heavy music, and personal tastes aside this is one of the most original metal records that I've heard in a long time. The second part of "Vermiculatus" is a sort of ambient industrial re-working of the previous instrumental session: hectic and much more uncompromising than I expected, it suffers from its fragmentary nature, but it's a welcome add to the whole head trip. And finally,the video track ("Vermiculatus B1"): whoah!! It only lasts 3 minutes and a half, but it's brilliant. Imagine high-tech images of mutating bodies, with the worm theme going on. Here, the electronic sounds actually work perfectly, as they merge with the frantic rhythm of the images. Very creative, well realized, and totally deranged visuals; don't expect anything close to a promo clip, or something you could see on MTV.