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OMNIUM GATHERUM ‘Years In Waste’ (Nuclear Blast) (2004)
Well, it seems like the prayers of all the people who wanted to hear something different from the already "overcrowded" Gothenburg Death Metal scene have finally been answered. What is really funny though, is that the answer didn’t come from one of the biggest cities in Sweden, but from the neighbouring country Finland.
A sextet from the country of the thousand lakes named Omnium Gatherum has released their second studio album "Years in Waste", an effort that indicates that there is a need for change and progression in a genre that is slowly starting to decay.
The band first came to life in 1996 in a place called Karhula, and spend the first four years recording demo tapes that brought them in contact with the Scandinavian underground Metal scene.
Many magazines started to show their interest in the band, which pretty soon recorded their debut album "Spirits and August Light". Problems with their previous record label made their future look quite uncertain, but at the most crucial time Nuclear Blast stepped in and offered them a contract.
Two years after the release of their debut album and with Mika Jussila being once again the producer, the sextet entered Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, and recorded their new and quite interesting studio album.
The first look at the album cover of "Years in Waste" gives you the impression that Omnium Gatherum’s style will be closer to that of bands like Katatonia and Opeth, which is partly the truth in this case. The chore of the band’s music though, consists of heavy/rhythmical guitar riffs and Death Metal vocals like the ones that Dark Tranquillity, In Flames and the amazing At The Gates all use.
Now if you combine the atmosphere of the first and the aggression of the latter, and also add moments of progressive "madness" influenced by bands like Dream Theater what you are left with is the recipe of the band’s sound.
The album kicked off in the best possible way with the heavy but equally melodic "The Fall Went Right Through Here". The main role is distributed between the guitars (Markus Vanhala, Harri Pikka) and the keyboards (Jukka Perala) and throughout this ten-track album you will witness a constant battle over which of the two instruments will prevail.
I was also quite impressed by "Black Sea Cry", a melodic composition and probably the most emotional song of the album. I really loved this composition, even though I believe that Annti Filppu (vocals) should become a bit more involved in the whole atmosphere of the song. Other songs that did manage to stand out in my opinion are "No Moon & No Queen" (very interesting guitar melodies), and the quite atmospheric "More Withering".
I really cannot say that I was blown away by "Years in Waste", but I understand and acknowledge its importance. Omnium Gatherum didn’t just prove that the fans and the music press should take them quite seriously, but also that we should still expect good things in the future from the Scandinavian Metal scene. Their next album is definitely going to be added to my future purchase list.
Review by John Stefanis
***½
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