Wharflurch – Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters
Release Date: 25th September 2026
Label: Personal Records / Gurgling Gore / Dawnbreed
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Worm (mid-period before Bluenothing), Krypts, Slimelord, Universally Estranged, Plasmodulated.
Review By: Aeons Burning
The brainchild of Florida man Myk Colby, Wharflurch seeks to be the psychier side to his other three notable projects Hot Graves, Plasmodulated, and Liminal Erosion. After their debut Psychedelic Realms ov Hell in 2021 and subsequent brief hiatus, they’re back with sophomore record Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters. I’m really jonesing for some top-quality psychedelic death metal, as that’s been in short supply recently, and my biggest questions going into this were whether it delivered on the psychy vibe I crave as well as the all-important “should I listen to this at all or just stick to Plasmodulated when I crave death metal from this guy?”
My favorite element of Wharflurch is the heavy use of synths, most notably the Risk of Rain 2 sounding synth in opener Death Toll Horror as well as the really cool phaser sound in Non Zero Expanse. These really add to the general psychedelic atmosphere but create more of a spacey style of death metal rather than a fully psychedelic atmosphere. What also makes Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters enjoyable is the omnipresent stupidly-chunky riffs. There’s enough stomp and groove to really keep you headbanging before the synths start up again and you’re back in space. That being said, Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters struggles a bit when it comes to keeping up the overall quality throughout the record, being noticeably front-loaded, and what I end up with is a generally solid sophomore record but I’d just rather listen to Plasmodulated again instead of this.
Even though I see Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters as merely solid rather than the great album it could be, the bursts of greatness do a fantastic job of channeling a spacier Slimelord, and any comparison to Slimelord is a welcome one. Wharflurch have created an enjoyable sophomore record that, while not a list-buster, is fun to listen to a few times and if this exact style of death metal appeals to you, you’ll find something great here. There’s never anything truly bad about Mycodeath and Rebirth in the Outer Clusters, but there’s still some time in the kitchen needed before Wharflurch makes something really great.
(3 / 5)
