The term “apostasy” is defined as the abandonment and renunciation of a religion by an individual. In the case of the mind-melting title track by Denver, CO darkwave/industrial outfit Cutworm, the apostate abandons human contact entirely for the purpose of creation. For all people with a creative bend, the process of trial and error can be both exhilarating…and maddening. This is the impetus behind Cutworm’s sinister new monochromatic video, part of an ongoing conceptual series of film clips with tied threads.
“The story starts with Apostasy and ends with Means of Control, explains David L. Small, the architect behind Cutworm. “The story behind the videos is mostly about the cycle of creation. For my process when it comes to making music, art, etc., I prefer to be alone when I do it, hence the character…walking a great distance to find a place to create. I suppose the character’s process could be interpreted as the usual trial and error before he realizes what he’s creating consumes him.
The upcoming Means of Control video revisits that character basically undoing the errors of the character from Apostasy.”
Since its inception in 2015, Cutworm has proven itself as an adventure in sonic experience. Whisking together elements from heavy industrial, hip hop, noise, witch house, dark wave, and film scoring, Cutworm has set out to create a living and breathing musical entity that is as beautiful as it is destructive.
The album, Ouster, represents the culmination of all the anger and sorrow Small experienced in the last year or so. “The album is a direct response to watching the world around us further deteriorate and devolve,” he says. “It’s a bleak response. It’s confrontational. Every track has been directly affected by the events of 2020. Some of the music on this album wouldn’t have existed without suffering. But as I worked through the process I found this layer of beauty that advanced with the ugliness. It’s an incredibly conflicting feeling, but I am thankful for how it turned out. I look forward to sharing it with everyone.”
The intriguing video was filmed and directed by Logan Diemert, with additional footage and edits by David L Small.
Order Cutworm’s Ouster here