UMUR
"Alpha and the Omega" is the seventh full-length studio album by Danish death/thrash/groove metal act Konkhra. The album was released through Hammerheart Records in October 2019. It´s the successor to "Nothing is Sacred" from 2009, so it´s been a 10 years long recording break for Konkhra, and there have been a couple of lineup changes since the last album, as drummer Johnny Nielsen and lead guitarist Kim Mathiesen have made yet another return to Konkhra (this is their second time returning to the band). Bassist Lars Schmidt has been replaced by Martin R. Patterson, so it´s only lead vocalist/guitarist Anders Lundemark who remains from the lineup who recorded "Nothing is Sacred".
Lineup changes or not, the material on "Alpha and the Omega" continues the hybrid death/thrash/groove metal style of both "Reality Check" (2003) and "Nothing is Sacred" (which isn´t odd as Lundemark was the main composer on those releases). Lundemark maybe growls a bit more and uses less of his Robb Flynn (Machine Head) influenced raw throaty singing, but otherwise "Alpha and the Omega" still sees Konkhra using elements from all three above mentioned styles. Heavy, meaty, groove laden riffs and rhythms, spiced up with thrashy riffs and a few more brutal death metal moments ("Thoth" is for example a really heavy and quite brutal track). There´s also a death´n´roll feeling to some tracks ("Divine Wind" is an example of that).
"Alpha and the Omega" features a raw, powerful, and detailed sound production, and Konkhra are as always a well playing unit, so the basis elements are in place. Lundemark has also managed to write more memorable and varied songs this time around, and upon conclusion "Alpha and the Omega" is actually a nice surprise after a few more standard quality releases and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.