Photo Credit: Haris Nukem
Wargasm have tooled up, armed themselves to their musical teeth and are at their heaviest to date, with their raw, ferocious, ambitious must-listen, ignore-them-at-your-peril debut album Venom.
The London-based electro-punk pairing have earned a reputation for live shows dripping in unapologetic attitude, bone-rattling riffs and dipped in the best parts of nu-metal. But now, on their eponymous debut album Venom, Sam Matlock and Milkie Way have managed to capture the undeniable energy and magnetism of their live shows and harness it for one of 2023’s most exciting, musically violent and sexy releases.
Venom is a sonic adventure which is impossible to ignore. Throughout the record Sam and Milkie’s vocals bounce off one another with dynamism, energy and rage, and it just works. Little nods pay homage musically to the likes of Limp Bizkit – with Fred Durst of course making a cameo appearance on Bang Ya Head – Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy and even BABYMETAL
Venom is a potent concoction of punk-rock fury and electronic innovation. With the duo’s infamously fearless lyrics and unapologetic attitude making this album a powerful statement of rebellion and individuality.
The album starts at breakneck pace, gripping listeners by the throat and never letting up until the album closer Sombre Goodbye, as Milkie roars: “We’re Wargasm! Wargasm sounds like THIS!”
From the groovy beat of Do It So Good to the nu-metal flavours bursting through Ride The Thunder, the entire record is an audio collision and collaboration of all the genres in the musical rainbow, and it is a glorious ride.
Venom is as much an experience as it is an album, a rallying call for everyone to embrace who they are. But, more than anything, this brilliant record lays the table for the future, a future which promises to hold no limits for this duo.
8/10
Standout Tracks: Bang Ya Head, Ride The Thunder, Feral
For Fans Of: Nine Inch Nails, BLACKGOLD, The Prodigy
Written by: Eric Mackinnon
