adg211288
The Fall of Omnius (2013) is the debut full-length studio album by French death metal act Nephren-Ka. The name may be familiar despite Nephren-Ka being a relatively new band with only a prior demo and EP under their belt as it is taken from H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, something that metal bands worldwide seem to have shares in, and was also part of the title of the debut album of the mighty death metal act Nile, Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka (1998). I guess it’s fair to say that the band Nephren-Ka can just about be put in the same bracket as Nile, but it’s clear on their debut that despite some apparent shared influences that the French band has their own thing going for them. Despite the Lovecraft name the album itself instead draws inspiration from the Dune universe created by author Frank Herbert.
The music on The Fall of Omnius is primarily within the technical death metal field but there are also elements of brutal death metal as well as a more traditional straight up death metal sound. Vocalist Laurent Chambe is hard to follow, as many in this game are, but his growl is deep and brutal, which is of course to the overall benefit of the music. But it does unfortunately also have the side effect that the Dune theme tends to get a bit lost on me, despite having read the first five books in my time, although such things don't really affect my overall enjoyment of a release, those thinking of giving Nephren-Ka a try based solely on their lyrical theme may come away feeling rather cheated, despite the album's obvious merits in other, more important, areas.
The musicianship is arguably the true highlight of the album. It’s technical but not overly showy with guitarist Sébastien Briat driving the music with as many intense riffs as technical playing. It's nice and song based in other words rather than a 'hey look what I can do!' exercise. The production complements the band's sound by not being too polished and clean but not totally raw either.
An excellent debut from Nephren-Ka, The Fall of Omnius should find an easy appeal to anyone who likes their death metal complex without sacrificing brutality. Fans of Nile and bands of that ilk should especially pay attention although don't expect Nephren-Ka to be rivalling the best work of Nile just yet. All the same, I'm pretty pleased with how their debut turned out. The songs are of a continually high quality, so much so that the album is a rare instance where I feel I don't need to single out any particular tracks as highlights. That said, Nephren-Ka isn't quite ready to be included among the top acts of death metal, classic or modern, but with The Fall of Omnius they show much promise of making it. A great album tier rating is deserved.
81/100
(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/nephren-ka-the-fall-of-omnius-t3193.html)