Omnium Gatherum, The Red Shift
Releasing their fourth album, The Red Shift, Finland’s Omnium Gatherum have made a shift of their own. Building on their history of melodic death metal, the group has unleashed a catchy, well written and masterfully produced (Dan Swano on mixing duties) album. The Red Shift sees a vast improvement in vocalist Jukka Pelkonen — his range has increased and he seems more willing to throw more varied deliveries into the mix (growls, clean vocals, whispers).
Musically, Omnium Gatherum combine as individuals to great a tour de force in Scandenavian melodic death. Soaring leads tumble into catchy hooks and massive riffs while the rhythm section keep everything flowing smoothly like a cold Norse river. There’s rarely a moment on the disc that gives you pause. Even the more symphonic keyboard elements are well balanced in the mix, never taking attention away from the overall feel of the album.
Nail
Album opener, “Nail” starts off with a pretty damned good vibe, with melodic guitars and a steady rhythm. The pace picks up around :25 with some sweet guitar picking and Pelkonen’s gruff vocal delivery. Pelkonen varies his range going deeper on occasion and slightly cleaner on others, all the while keeping the flow of the music nicely. There are some smooth transitions between monster riffs and melodic hooks throughout this track. The lead just after the two minute mark give way to some nice moshing riffs and thunderous drums. The chorus sees a much cleaner vocal delivery, but it works well with the rest of the song.
The Shadowkey
Even more melodic guitar starts out this next one before the group shifts into a driving pace with some seriously sweet guitar work. The vocals come in about 40 second in and are layered nicely with backing growls that add depth to the track. Omnium Gatherum do a tremendous job shifting smoothly from soaring, melodic moments back to more aggressive rhythms and riffs. the transition is never jarring and keeps the flow of the track moving along well.
Chameleon Skin
“Chameleon Skin” has a much more aggressive beginning to it with driving guitars and earth shaking drums. Overall this one is a bit darker and more straightforward than the first to songs. It does have some melodic moments, but for the most part it’s a step more bludgeoning and I’m digging the hell out of it. I love the guitars at the three minute mark — especially the slick lead that follows.
No Breaking Point
There’s a lot of different elements going into this next song. The opening guitar work, for one, has an interesting punk feel to them before the rest of the group comes in with driving rhythms and a bit of piano. The vocals are aggressive as the riffing shifts to bone crushing mode. The chorus on “No Breaking Point” is catchy as hell, even if it’s a bit more gothic than I prefer. This one easily has the more infectious hooks and rhythms on the album.
The Return
Some light synth work starts off “The Return” for the first 25 seconds or so before thundering drums and melodic riffs swallow them with a wall of sound. The vocals come in as the synth persists in the background of massive riffs and pile driving drums. There are some excellent melodic moments throughout the song that are tempered by some of the more aggressive vocals and brutal riffs on the disc.
Shapes on Shades
Light guitars open up “Shapes on Shades” before a huge growl introduces a pummeling rhythm. Pelkonen hits some much deeper, more guttural vocals on this one as they are layered with higher pitched backing screams. This is one massive track in terms of its sound. Big props to Swano on this one.
The Redshifter
There’s a bit more of a chaotic feel to this one as tempos start and stop all over the place. We also hear a variety of vocal deliveries ranging from soft, evil whispers to higher end screams and the mid-range guttural delivery we’ve heard throughout the album. The lead at the three minute mark is ridiculously technical, but fits in beautifully.
Greeneyes
I’m all for throwing in a slower track to help break up the pace a bit for varieties sake, but… but… “Greeneyes” is just does not fit with the previous tracks. It’s got a great melancholy, slower paced feel, but the vocals are less than stellar — at least the cleanly sung stuff. They sound like some late 80’s Cure inspired stuff. Luckily there are some big growls to break up the crooning a bit, but I can safely say that I will be skipping this track in future listens.
The 2nd Flame
“The 2nd Flame” starts off with some creative drumming, driving guitars and keyboard elements that pick the pace back up from “Greeneyes.” The vocals are back to their more appropriate gruffness. The crushing riffs at 1:20 are a nice touch among the melodic hooks and rhythms. There are some more clean vocals that come in after the two minute mark passes, but they are short lived and quickly engulfed with gruff, guttural vocals.
Song for December
“Song for December” starts off a bit more theatrical and lighter with soft guitars and even softer drums. The instrumental track lasts just over two minutes and is actually pretty damned good.
Distant Light Highway
I love the layered guitars to start off the final track on a pretty stellar album. The vocals are at a low grumble, whispered so only we can hear it, before exploding at the one minute mark with gruff growls. The layered guitars continue along with driving riffs and thundering drums.
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One track aside, I’d be willing to say that Omnium Gatherum’s latest The Red Shift will end up on several top album lists at year’s end. There’s a whole lot to be real excited about on this album — catchy melodies, crushing rhythms, an improved vocal performance and infectious songs.
Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A