WORTHLESS are your quintessential under the radar talented Death Metal band. They propagate a  melodic yet gruesome variant of the Finnish strain of Death Metal. Their sound is unique and has immense replay value. One their new offering MELANCHOLIC RITES, let us see if they can hold a hot streak and deliver on their amazing sound.

The album begins with the song "CARNIVAL OF SIN", It is a reminder of the good old days of the 90s Swedish Death Metal with bands like AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES, and DARK TRANQUILITY. Their old glory is neatly replicated on this song. It works so well with the HM2 laden sound of the band and their brilliant songwriting prowess. At times, the riffing takes you to a trance-like state due to the weight of the feeling it invokes.  When the song slows down to build up, we are in for a neatly tied up climax to it and heighten the experience that much higher.

"SEEDS OF DEGEBRATION" is what we land on after the first song, and it kicks as much as ass as the first dose. The D-beat like the pace of the song is just full of so much energy that feels like it can unwind and fall through. But the fact that the energy is so brilliantly held together by the songwriting is a testament to the band's talent as a cohesive unit. Each part is independently strong and also contribute to the larger picture in a rather beautiful manner. While the first song took us on the memory lane and second made you want to stage dive, the next one, "VANTABLACK", displays where the band has come from, here their influences truly shine through and is almost palpable. The beauty of the songwriting is to be commended yet again. The first third itself sets a precedence that marks this album one of the underrated gems of the year.

I will go on now to comment on one more song that stood out to me in the album, it is an easy pick."LUNATIC". This song could easily pass for one of the better songs of this year. Brilliantly written and skillfully executed, this song is my favourite on the album.  A very original take on the band's sound as it pieces together every element of the band and the album that works well and to their advantage.

This album is a grossly underrated one in a year where we discovered many gems. It deserves so much more recognition than is it garnering as of now. This one lands in my top albums of the year list due to its originality, its uniqueness, and the courage to thread a very subtle line in Death Metal songwriting, that is even slightly off can land the album in a very different place. Bravo WORTHLESS!