J-Man
Omnium Gatherum's first album with the legendary Dan Swanö covering production duties sees this Finnish melodic death metal outfit in particularly high form. Indeed, 2008's The Redshift shows these Finns more or less continuing down the same path established by their previous three full-lengths, but it also displays the band taking full advantage of Jukka Pelkonen's diverse vocal range while also offering some of their strongest compositions to boot. Soaring guitar leads, epic synth backdrops, and deep guttural vocals come together perfectly on The Redshift, and although future Omnium Gatherum albums show even further development, The Redshift is a remarkably consistent album that reeks of atmosphere, professionalism, and class!
Omnium Gatherum's music takes plenty of cues from genre leaders like Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, and In Flames, but on the whole, I'd argue that the band's approach to melodic death metal is pretty distinct. The Redshift places a heavy emphasis on both progressive and melancholic sensibilities, which makes comparisons to bands like Katatonia, Opeth, and Crimson II-era Edge of Sanity pretty valid as well. There are a few fairly straight-ahead melodeath tracks here like "The Redshifter" and "Nail", but perhaps the album's most noteworthy moments can be found on the progressive-edged tracks like "The Second Flame" and "Distant Light Highway", the predominately clean sung "Greeneyes", or the beautiful instrumental "Song for December".
There really isn't a weak track on The Redshift, though, so most listeners should expect an enjoyable listen from start to finish - this is an extremely cohesive album that sounds stylistically consistent throughout its duration, but still manages to throw in enough surprises to keep the listener on his toes. Factor in the top-notch musicianship and flawless production courtesy of Dan Swanö, and there's very little to complain about here.
If you're thinking about checking out The Redshift these days, there is a recent reissue available from Candlelight Records that includes a couple of bonus demo tracks, a live version of "Nail", and an alternate mix of "Shapes and Shades". The recording quality of these versions isn't the best, and if you already own the album, there's little reason to re-purchase it for these bonus tracks. Still, for newcomers to the band, this 2014 reissue is the definitive version of The Redshift; definitely check it out if you're into melodic and atmospheric death metal!