Interview with death metal band from United States (Maine) - WORM ALTAR.
Answered Scott Martin, thank you!
Recenze/review - WORM ALTAR - Pillars of Eternal Dusk (2026):
Ave WORM ALTAR! Greetings to the Portland underground. I hope everything’s going well over there. It should be you’ve just released the first fantastic full-length album of your career this year. I have to admit, it literally pinned me to the wall. It’s dark, energetic, and cuts like the sharp edge of a knife. It’s very clear that you’ve done a great job and brought a lot of talent to the table. How do you see the new album in relation to your previous work? Where did you want to take things, and in what ways do you think these recordings are different?
Scott: Greetings Deadly Storm! We are happy to hear the album pinned you to the wall. We are proud of the early, solo worm altar material as it is integral to what we have become, but Pillars, to me, is something much more than than the early material ever was. It is truly an amalgamation of like minds striving to make the soundtrack to the end of the world. We wanted to make something heavier and more suffocating than anything else. The album was recorded mostly live in the studio in order to capture the raw energy and undying musical chemistry that we share as a band.
“Pillars of Eternal Dusk” embodies all the attributes of good death and doom metal. For me personally, it’s an album I love coming back to. How did it come together? How does WORM ALTAR compose new material?
Scott: We typically compose music on our own and bring the songs to the band once they are mostly complete. Once a song is introduced to the band, we spend a lot of time fine-tuning the arrangement. Each member has a say in the arrangements and final feel of the songs. Many of the riffs on Pillars are three to four years old and were written during the Astral Scourge period.
I looked it up Ethan Camp is credited with the mix, and Dan Lowndes with the mastering. I have to say, the sound is absolutely killer. It keeps making me turn up the volume on my stereo. Dan Lowndes created a sound for you that’s brutal, raw, yet dark and primal. What was it like working with him, and why did you choose him specifically? Which studio did you record in, and how did the process go?
Scott: We had worked with Dan on a previous promo tape and he did an amazing job. He’s pretty much the guy to go to for death metal mastering. He’s a lovely fella. I found out about Ethan Camp in 2019 when I saw him playing keyboards live for mortiferum. Years later I started to notice his name appearing on multiple releases as the recording and mixing engineer. These releases included Mortiferum’s Altar of Decay, Purulency’s Transcendent Unveiling of Dimensions and Mephitic Corpse’s Sickness Attracts Sickness. I knew that Ethan was the right guy for mixing based on these releases. As for the actual recording, we recorded the instruments mostly live in about ten hours at Acadia Recording Company here in Portland by Todd Hutchisen. Todd was as efficient, professional and accommodating as they come. He knew exactly how to capture our sound. We hope to work with this exact trio of engineers for our next release.
An integral part and a sort of bonus for fans today is the CD, vinyl, and cassette. You released everything through Dawnbreed Records, Gurgling Gore, and Contemn Light, and the album features a ghoulish cover. Who designed it? How did you choose the theme, and how does it relate to the music on the new album?
Scott: Our friend Slimeweaver of Finland crafted the ghoulish artwork in question. We had been wanting to work with him for years and we are glad it finally happened. As for the concept, I made a crude sketch of it on a piece of paper and sent it to Slimeweaver to bring to life (death?). We just wanted to make the album art look as gloomy and apocalyptic as our music sounds.
I’ve been wandering the underworld for over thirty years now, and when it comes to music, Maine is basically a sure bet for me. I think we have similar personalities and tastes when it comes to metal. I really like your bands and follow your scene closely. Maybe I even envy you a little we only have a few death metal bands over here that are worth checking out. How do you explain the fact that death metal is doing so well in your area? How do you view your scene, the fans, and the labels?
Scott: Oddly enough, there is not a whole lot of death metal happening in Maine outside our friends in the bands Shabti (featuring Rob of Worm Altar), Imipolex and Dungavenhooter. People seem to be more into black metal here, which is fine, I guess. Our Bass player, Jon Morse, has been the primary promoter of extreme music here, bringing through legendary bands such as Coffins, Mortiferum, Caustic Wound etc. Before Jon joined Worm Altar, he always invited us to play the sickest shows, so we were always lucky in that regard. Jon has also been releasing music via his label Contemn Light for Worm Altar, as well as for bands like Shabti and ORDH. He’s an avid supporter of our scene and we are lucky to have him in our band. We are luckily close enough to places like Quebec and Worcester, MA (shout out to Kevin @ Codex Obscurum) and they feel like a second home to us.
You play old-school-influenced doom death metal. These days, a band can’t really avoid comparisons, but I’d be interested to know how the idea to form WORM ALTAR actually came about, who your role models were and are, and where you want to take your band next. Are you tempted by big international festivals, for example, or would you be willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
Scott: I have been playing metal for a good 20 years or so and I’ve always wanted to be in a death metal band. The main influences for Worm Altar in the beginning included bands like Coffins and Mortiferum and even more doomy bands like early Cathedral, Sabbath, etc. Our sound is still focused on those primary influences, but perhaps with a greater emphasis on the gloomy melodic styles of bands like Gorement and Ceremonium. We are hopeful to play some international festivals and play wherever people want to see us, nothing would bring us more joy. This music is our passion and we want to share it with anyone who wants to hear it.
When I started my website ten years ago, my vision was to try to support bands that I felt weren’t getting much attention. To let the world know about them. I think I’m doing pretty well at it, at least judging by the feedback. How do you approach promotion? Do you leave it to the label, or do you send CDs out yourselves for reviews? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. How about you? Are you also fans who like to support your peers often? Do you go to concerts? Do you party?
Scott: We’re all fans of extreme music in general, amongst other types of music and art forms. We love seeing extreme bands whenever they come through Portland and are lucky enough to open for them and make friends with them. We all collect tapes and CDs and are obsessed with music and media of all sorts.
On the one hand, a band starting out today has plenty of ways to get its name out there, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of bands out there, and fans get lost in the crowd. A lot of people just download MP3s from the internet and, instead of going to a concert, prefer to spew venom on Facebook. How does modern technology influence you as WORM ALTAR? What do you think about downloading music, “Google metalheads,” streaming music, and so on?
Scott: Streaming is certainly convenient and it gets our name out there. We want fans to hear us in whatever way is accessible to them. Of course, buying physical media is the best way to support a band, but it’s not everyone’s preferred method. We are just happy people are interested in our music.
Thank you very much for the interview. I wish your new album every success and hope your fan base grows as much as possible. I look forward to seeing you live somewhere, and I wish you all the best both musically and personally. I’m off to blast “Pillars of Eternal Dusk” again!
Recenze/review - WORM ALTAR - Pillars of Eternal Dusk (2026):
WORM ALTAR
Dawnbreed Records
Gurgling Gore
Contemn Light
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