Artist: Omnium Gatherum
Label: Rage of Achilles/The End
Release Date: 5/19/03
|
|
Title: Spirits and August Light Artist: Omnium Gatherum Label: Rage of Achilles/The End Release Date: 5/19/03 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
|
5 | ||
|
4 | ||
|
5 | ||
|
|
Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
Alright, it's almost official. Finland has got to be one of the most exciting places for new metal. I believe this is Omnium Gatherum's first full-length album, and they've come a long way in vanquishing any comparisons to Children of Bodom. While I thought the initial comparisons were a little exaggerated, they prove completely baseless now.
"The production allows for wispy flight for the music, but maintains a solid base. It's like breaking your nose trying to walk through a wall of smoke." Spirits and August Light is a progressive/black/death vision of bleak forests and ominous mountains (musically if not lyrically). If this band has any characteristic that is stereotypically Finnish, it's their ability to take an established sound and tweak it in ways to make it exciting again. While Opeth's last few albums saw them in somewhat of a rut, this band shows where the sound can be taken. They share Opeth's knack for composition, but take it to far bleaker territory. The production allows for wispy flight for the music, but maintains a solid base. It's like breaking your nose trying to walk through a wall of smoke.
The music portrays a spectrum of emotion, there are sometimes even upbeat sounding passages, but even these are overshadowed by a sense of oppression. Like the momentary joys of an enslaved people. The band can be punishing one minute and melodic the next, never overdoing any aspect of their sound. This band is very earthy despite their ambitious songwriting, striking me in much the same way as early Orphanage. But the most impressive aspect to this album is that they are doing something all their own. This album marks a new dawn in metal, not just a refinement of a previous sound.
"While musicians will probably appreciate this band, songwriters are the ones who should take note." While the music itself relies on depth and texture, the vocals are skeletal and starving. Thankfully this band chose to forego the clean vocals that most bands of this ilk rely on for dichotomy, and instead keep the singing constant and ugly, providing a bar for which to measure the depth of emotion in the music. And while the music treads on progressive soil, it is always purposeful. The music wanders, but always reaches a destination. And while musicians will probably appreciate this band, songwriters are the ones who should take note.
I can't really praise this album enough, it has been a thorough joy to listen to, and becomes more and more rewarding every time I give it my attention. Here's hoping you give it yours. One word review: Important.
Death's Review:
Finland's Omnium Gatherum display proficient musicianship balanced with artful craftmanship on Spirits and August Light, a genre-bending exploration of many metallic and artistic paths. A deep, layered and complex album, the record contains nine epicly scaled tracks that those who enjoy the more forward-thinking side of the extreme metal underground will surely appreciate. Better yet -- it is raw, and it is metal. Think arty, with some elements of Opeth, some elements of Children of Bodom. The musicality can almost be described as "progressive" at times, yet these songs are not catchy - and the vocals are not cheesy. The production is clear yet aggressive and underground, and the technicality is only offered in service of heaviness rather than devolving into musical masturbation.
"It is raw, and it is metal."
Omnium Gatherum are a first-rate band who get better with each listen. The packing is also of high-quality and creatively assembled. My only complaint is the mild absence of any catchiness to much of the songwriting, and the lack of any vocal stand-out expression. These songs don't stick with me like they should, although perhaps this is simply because full appreciation of Omnium Gatherum requires more of an effort than I'm fully prepared to give it right now. I can tell you there's something interesting happening here.
"Omnium Gatherum are a first-rate band who get better with each listen."
Hel's Review:
Favorite Track: "The Perfumed Garden"
"Aggressive and uncompromising, and performed with outstanding ability combined with an obvious amount of heart." Readers in the United States, are you looking for another reason to love The End Records? Then how about their deal with Rage of Achilles Records to distribute Omnium Gatherum's Spirits and August Light in the US? Many of you will be compulsively clicking "buy" on May 19, trust me.
Spirits and August Light is for the melodic death fan in us all. Aggressive and uncompromising, and performed with outstanding ability combined with an obvious amount of heart. The vocals are a delight, low and guttural, unintelligible yet understandable to the accustomed ear, and not a clean vocal in sight. While I once embraced the dichotomy created by the dual style as a nice change, it has become so overdone in recent years that I now newly appreciate just the single, powerful voice.
"Then there's the songwriting. It is astounding." The guitar work on the entire record is outstanding. A personal highlight is the guitar sound used during "The Perfumed Garden" which is reminiscent of Amorphis, and, when combined with the voice I was just raving about, makes me very happy. The drumming is woefully under produced - low in the mix and muddy - but despite the injustice, the skill is undeniable, and the flaw can be overlooked. The rest of the record is beautifully produced, with the guitars and vocals balanced against each other perfectly.
Then there's the songwriting. It is astounding. While some may be tempted to point to the places where their influences most obviously show through, and dare to call them derivative, I disagree. I think that it is clear these men have listened and appreciated a lot of good metal, and that is reflected in their music. But the music is completely their own, done in a way no one else has, and extremely well at that. If you enjoy songwriting skill and musical ability, if you prefer your death metal with a little melody, and without clean vocals, you obviously need this album.
[- Metal Judgment Home -] [- Email Metal Judgment -]
©1999 Metal Judgment. All rights reserved.