Armed with their instruments and a healthy admiration for amplifiers, doom quartet Worship crafted Tunnels, a doom album so crammed with riffs and atmosphere that it stands out in a crowded field. Taking inspiration from post-metal and hardcore as much as classic doom practitioners, Tunnels hits with an enormous weight, in both an emotional and sonic way.
There are similarities to Neurosis and Isis, plus newer post-metal acts like YLVA throughout the album, excelling on tracks like “Serpents” and the titular track. The spoken word segment on “Paralyze” is a surprising turn, but it makes the crushing album emotional and human sounding.
Tunnels is a shocking and welcome step forward from Worship’s last album, All Too Human. Trading in the blown-out, noisy combination of sludge, doom and hardcore punk for the more measured, less in-your-face style works to great effect.
“Tunnels was a really great outlet for me at a mentally taxing time in my life,” vocalist Andrew tells Decibel. “It is about attempting to find peace in the all-too-familiar narrative of being an adult with a family and career and trying to figure out your purpose. This album gave me a place to put my thoughts when I was really starting to allow myself to be vulnerable and I’m forever grateful for that.”
You can listen to all of Tunnels here and grab the album via Worship’s Bandcamp.
