Wyrm Chasm. Two words and I’m in.1 It’s a name so good, they had to use it twice. Wyrm Chasm is the eponymous debut of Dallas, Texas-based black metallers Wyrm Chasm, formed with the intent of “forg[ing] a cutting-edge sound rooted in raw atmospheres.” What Wyrm Chasm dish out is tried and trve stuff: intense attacks of charged percussion, unbridled fury, and a cold and oppressive atmosphere. But that’s also, like, what 90% of all black metal bands promise. Will this debut make me squyrm for the Wyrm, or is this Chasm better left un-delved?
If the Second Wave hasn’t swept you up yet, then I’m afraid Wyrm Chasm likely won’t get you on board. Wyrm Chasm is a noisy, blast-beat-and-tremolo-riff bonanza, full of everything you expect from black metal and nothing else. For some, that’s a sell. Songs like “Eyes of the Eternal” reek with early-Mayhem dissonant gloom while “Throned Entropy” throws its weight with Emperor’s imperial pomp. But I think even genre diehards have to concede that Wyrm Chasm sounds a bit too familiar. Wyrm Chasm at its worst sounds like a blackened paint-by-numbers kit,2 where the structures on songs like “Netjer” and “Majestas” are so rigid you can hear the chord changes clunking into place. Wyrm Chasm are as entitled to the conventions of black metal as any band, but their rigorous adherence to them leave Wyrm Chasm with little else to stand on.
The songwriting on Wyrm Chasm may not shine, but its performances do. Putting pedal smack dab on metal, Wyrm Chasm seethes with blackened fury throughout its 41-minute runtime. Wyrm Chasm sport a thick, Swedeath-like guitar tone that offers songs like “Fall of Gaia” and “Spiraling Decay” a greater, nastier heft that guitarists Eric Carrasco and Dale Childs slather over their spirited riffing. Vocalist Stephen Jeter has a particularly burly howl, liberally applied across Wyrm Chasm with little variation but much volatility. But drummer Buddy Griffin absolutely kills it across Wyrm Chasm’s debut, fitting tight fills into wicked cymbal runs and devastating kick barrages and crushing out blast beats like they’re going out of style. Even on Wyrm Chasm’s less inspired works (“Netjer,” “Eyes of the Eternal”), Griffin’s kit work stands out as impressive. Similarly, Wyrm Chasm’s sheer gusto sometimes elevates their best tracks like “Duality of Existence” or “Throned Entropy” into unabashed bangers. Outside of the recording booth, I have some qualms with Wyrm Chasm’s approach; inside, none at all.
But that’s also part of what makes Wyrm Chasm so frustrating to write about: nothing is outright bad, but there’s almost nothing to champion either. Instead of one or two big problems to address, Wyrm Chasm is dragged down by piles of little issues. Wyrm Chasm’s brisk pace keeps songs moving, but they’re still usually just a bit too long (“Light at the End”). While not nearly as repetitive as a lot of black metal, it’s still a little too repetitive (“Majestas”). While exercising both melody and atmosphere, Wyrm Chasm doesn’t leave lasting hooks or clinging atmospheres. There are times on Wyrm Chasm where I can hear what the band is so excited about—the shifty riffing on “Spiraling Decay,” the tragic melodies on “Duality of Existence”—but there are too few to these ears for me to share it.
Wyrm Chasm is sometimes as fun to listen to as it is to say. Great performances from Wyrm Chasm keep their debut exciting, but they don’t elevate their songs so much as mitigate less-than-fresh compositions. Besides a few choice moments, most of Wyrm Chasm flies by enjoyably but unmemorably. But with Wyrm Chasm comes the silver lining of every debut: maybe this is just the start for Wyrm Chasm, whose best material is yet to come? In conclusion: Wyrm Chasm.
Rating: Mixed
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: wyrmchasm.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/WyrmChasm
Releases Worldwide: October 23rd, 2026
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