Ever since their emergence in early 2016HMLTD, avid advocates of the Gesamtkunstwerk,have always striven to give audiences more. On their wildly ambitious second album,they are realising these aims on a truly epic scale.

Created over the course of two years with a cast of 47 musicians including a gospel choir and a 16-piece string orchestra The Wormis less a concept album than a fully-fledged musical universe, transcending genre and medium. Set in a disorienting anachronistic version of Medieval England as steeped in dystopian sci-fi fantasy as it is folklore and Old English mythology its part political polemic, part deeply moving psychological journey.

Though always admired for their defiantly genre-agnostic approach,The Wormsees HMLTD pushing sonic experimentation to a whole new level, from dissonant free jazz riffing to vintage soul and English folk fusions to rock opera. Major musical touchpoints included Stravinskys RiteOfSpring, Pink Floyd and Nina Simones rendition of Sinnerman and references for the world of The Worm included 14th century textsThe Canterbury TalesandThe Decameron, Aleksey Germans 2013 sci-fi filmHard To Be A God, BergmansThe Seventh Sealand TarkovskysAndrei Rublev and the hopeful narrative arc of 90s mecha anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.