While many may consider Deathcore to be a stagnant movement, the bands that espouse its styles continues to evolve as more artists come together to push boundaries. Brockton, Massachusetts natives, Worm Shepherd, have dropped their first EP (following two full lengths), The Sleeping Sun (Unique Leader Records), and the mixture of deathcore, symphonic death metal, and sprinkles of black metal themes ended up growing on you. 

In fact, the biggest part of my uncertainty was if I liked the generous helping of symphonic elements in each track. The more I listened, however, the more I see it as a backbone and helps make this sound stand out from a deep pit of deathcore bands today.

“The Broken Earth” has such a catchy melody throughout most of the track that reminds me of the Little Nightmares video game from a few years back. It felt like a lullaby, yet something looming in the dark corner of the room watching you fall asleep. “The Tortured Path”, with prevalent symphonic elements holding the structure of the track together, is a much slower song. I imagine the entity looming in the dark corner of the previous track is now slowly making its way towards the bedside… 

Another stand-out track for me is “The Dying Heavens” as it has probably the most notable breakdown on The Sleeping Sun, but it still is not the focal point as a guitar solo plays over the top. Even in the refrain/outro, a piano piece and clean vocals hold up to balance the breakdown on the low end.

Worm Shepherd, while not a genre pioneer, is pushing the boundaries with extensive focus on the symphonic and black metal elements on top of a solid deathcore base. The Sleeping Sun is a quick, efficient, and enjoyable thirty-one minutes of aggressive, yet beautiful audio landscape. I look forward to seeing what is next for these local-to-me musicians, and fans of the subgenre should take notice.

Buy the EP here:

https://orcd.co/thesleepingsun

7 / 10

TIM LEDIN