Hailing from Finland is a band known as Omnium
Gatherum. This is the band’s 4th album in a relatively short span
of time. It seems like these guys pop out albums every year, making it difficult
to really hit the nerve with anything fresh. Melodic death metal over the
past decade or so has undoubtedly become more metalcore and has added that
clean vocal variety. This band hasn't gone "core", but have adopted
the clean vocal sound somewhat. It wouldn't be so bad if the clean vocals
were good, but dammit, Jukka needs to make up his mind if he's gonna growl
or sing. Personally, I'd rather hear a more refined vocal style. If there's
gonna be any clean ones from now on, the band will need to find someone
specifically singing in medley. The growls are good, but enough of my bitching
on the vocals. The music is not only great, it is memorable. Markus, Harri
and Toni all work together very well in finding the perfect fill riffs and
solos. They have written some of the best damned metal I've heard! "The
Return" is an almost perfect perspective! Not only do the guitar players
make ends meet in ways unfathomed, Aapo has created a synthetic base that
could not have been done any other way and damn! Definitely like that late
70's / early 80's keyboard sound! Let's not leave Jarmo off the table. He
has to be one of the best uncharted drummers out there! Lots and lots of
great combinations in places most people don't think about. In short, if
the vocals were a bit more dynamic.... this would be a masterpiece. Jukka
is a great frontman when he's not trying to sing, but needs a more experienced
clean vocalist for the other parts. It's similar to Dark Tranquillity's
"Projector" disc. This is still a pretty good album! 11 tracks,
45 minutes. Favorite track is "The Return".
Rating: 80
Reviewed By: Thomas Mitchell |
