UMUR "Grey Heavens" is the 7th full-length studio album by Finnish melodic death metal act Omnium Gatherum. The album was released through Lifeforce Records in February 2016. It´s the successor to "Beyond" from 2013 and features the exact same lineup who recorded that album. Omnium Gatherum have existed since 1996 and have slowly but steadily build a fanbase with each new album.

Stylistically the music on "Grey Heavens" continues the melodic death metal style from "Beyond (2013)". In fact the development of sound between the two releases is minimal, which could have been a problem, but really isn´t on "Grey Heavens". The quality and the catchiness of the material is simply too high for me to bother with the band´s deadlock when it comes to the development of their sound. Omnium Gatherum play what sounds like a combination of early Amorphis and early In Flames. The music is predominantly heavy, mid-paced, and epic, with an occasional nod towards ethnic Scandinavian folk in the lead themes. There are a couple of faster-paced and more energetic tracks featured on the album too though ("The Pit" and "The Great Liberation" are examples of that), so there is a relatively good level of diversity on the album. The vocals are deep growling which is occasionally spiced up with some atmospheric clean vocals. Usually delivered with harmony vocals/choirs. It´s a very effective vocal cocktail and suits the instrumental part of the music well. Keyboards also play quite a big part in the music. They help support the epic melody themes and layer the music with harmonies.

Along with the high level musicianship, and the heavy and very well sounding, and detailed sound production, it´s the epic melodies and majestic melancholic atmosphere of the music, which take "Grey Heavens" to a special high quality level. Everything just sound like it´s placed in the right place at the right moment throughout the album and while some listeners might find it odd for me to call "Grey Heavens" tranquil and pleasant when it ultimately is a death metal album, there is something strangely calming about it. It comes down to mastering your craft to perfection, and that is what Omnium Gatherum do. They are not particularly original sounding, nor are they on a mission to change their sound radically between albums. On the contrary they actually seem fully content delivering what they do and to my ears they do that so well that a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

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!

UMUR "Beyond" is the 6th full-length studio album by Finnish melodic death metal act Omnium Gatherum. The album was released through Lifeforce Records in February (Europe)/March (United States/Canada) 2013. Since their inception in 1996, Omnium Gatherum have slowly but surely increased their fanbase with each new release while simoultaniously developing their sound and they are today one of the most successful and popular melodic death metal acts from Finland.

...listening to "Beyond" it soon becomes abundantly clear why that is. These guys have a special gift when it comes to composing catchy melodies and epic atmospheres. Add to that excellent musicianship and a crystal clear and powerful sound production (mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö) and this album screams high quality. The songwriting is also on a high level and the band are equally successful in writing melodeath type tunes like the absolutely fantastic "New Dynamic", "The Sonic Sign" or "Living in Me" and more heavier tracks like "Nightwalkers" and "The Unknowing" (which to my ears is a pure doom/death metal track). "Nightwalkers" and especially the closing 10:41 minutes long track "White Palace" even cross into semi-progressive territories. To my ears the latter mentioned even features a couple of sections that remind me of early Dream Theater (check out the atmosphere/mood during the guitar solo or the solo itself or how about the solo in "Living in Me"). It´s mostly fellow countrymen in Swallow the Sun and especially Amorphis that I´m reminded of even though Omnium Gatherum also draw on melodeath as an influence. The lesser known Norwegians in In Grief could also be mentioned as a reference.

The vocals are predominantly growling, but there are whispering and clean sung sections on the album too. Most prominently on "Who Could Say", where the vocals in the vers are clean sung while they are growling in the chorus. I´m not wildly impressed by the clean vocals though and I generally think Jukka Pelkonen are more successful when he whispers or delivers more choir type clean vocal sections. His growling vocals are a bit too processed and unintelligible too, but they get the job done and they are not a major distraction. Overall I´d say the vocals are the weak link on an otherwise brilliant album. The instrumental part of the music is very well played. Solid rytmic foundation, nice melodic guitar work and solos and some very tastefully played keyboards.

Despite a few issues with the vocals, which may ultimately just be an aquired taste, "Beyond" is one of those special albums that reeks class. For fans of melodic and polished melodic death metal, this is a mandatory listen. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is fully deserved.

LightKnight And again The Finnish Melodic Death Metal band Omnium Gatherum creates a great album and a great musical experience. The band's 6th album - Beyond mixes Melodeath with progressive elements which creates interesting sounds and melodies and has this atmospheric sound which defines Omnium Gatherum. The name Beyond suits this record perfectly, the atmosphere that is created by the album has a feeling of something far away beyond our reach. Those cooler, slower melodies and the use of the clean vocal in the background adds a lot to the atmosphere . Couple of good examples for this atmosphere are the tracks - Louto, In the rim and The white palace. But despite the atmosphere the Record contains quite a bit of catchy songs and riffs that make the music very memorable. Some good examples for this are - Living in me and Formidable. The artwork suits the atmosphere of the album , the band's symbol that is made from stone covered with seaweeds and the coast that resembles the border that we cannot see beyond it, the clouds and the mysterious feeling.

The growls ( of Jukka Pelkonen)in this album are deep and well made. Also his cleans add a lot to the atmosphere and they are present in the right places. Although this record is more Melodic than Death it still has some Heavier parts especially in the song The sonic sign , In the chorus those deep aggressive growls with the background melody makes it sound good and interesting .

The songs.

Louto - Amazing opening track with a slow intro and the sounds of waves in the background that slowly progresses into a mighty and very atmospheric melody which just hooks you into the album.

New Dynamic - Starts with a nice intro melody and continues into a fairly heavy song , a good choice for the teaser

In the rim - Has maybe the best riff i heard from this band which appears twice, once in the beginning and the other time after the first chorus. The song overhaul is good but it lacks some clean parts in my opinion.

Nightwalkers - Maybe one of the heaviest tracks on this record , has some very catchy heavy riffs.

Formidable - Has faster temper than the other tracks , has a nice riff and a catchy chorus. Also a good use of good use of clean vocals in the background.

The sonic sign - Also a heavy track.Has nice melodies and a catchy chorus. Interesting effects that add to the feeling of this album.

Who could say - This track is very different from the rest of the album. It starts with a slow dreamy melody and a clean singing part. The chorus however consists of growls but adds to the feeling of the track. I am sure some people do not like it but i find this track very interesting and good. Also the lyrical theme is quite different from most of the lyrics in metal in general. But this makes Omnium Gatherum unique . This track also touches You with those melodies and the vocals. Maybe one of the best tracks in the album .

The unknowing - This is one of the weakest tracks from the album. It feels like the vocals do not match the music here. The singing feels a little bit unconnected , however this is not a bad song. it has it's moments but it can't be compared to the other songs in this album. It just lacks something.

Living in me - Probably the catchiest and the fastest song in the album. Amazing vocal work , an epic riff and the catchy singing just hooks you into it. A Great job of guitarist. Definitely One of my favorite songs of Omnium Gatherum.

White palace - The most progressive and the longest track in this album. starts with a slowish melody and then "explodes" in a heavy part , it jumps between growls and cleans , slow melodies and faster once but it slowly grows. After it reaches the climax it starts to fade slowly again. A very atmospheric track.

So This is a great album , i would suggest it to anyone who likes melodic death metal and metal in general . This album is definitely worth to listen to. Omnium Gatherum crafted a nice piece of music here. I hope to see more albums like that in the future , and hope to see them develop this new sound.

J-Man Though most eyes inevitably turn to Sweden when talking about melodic death metal, Finland's Omnium Gatherum has been creating some of the genre's most interesting music for a number of years now. They first grabbed my attention with 2011's beautiful New World Shadows, and with 2013's Beyond - the act's sixth full length observation - Omnium Gatherum has crafted another excellent melodic death metal release. The band's sound has very little in common with any traditional forms of death metal, but Beyond's exceptional compositions and musicianship make it an easy recommendation to anybody except the staunchest extreme metal purist.

The tag that best suits Omnium Gatherum's music is undoubtedly melodic death metal; however, if truth be told, their sound is so melodic and polished that the death metal label is almost misleading. That's not to discredit the fantastic music heard on Beyond, but it does mean that those who are hesitant towards sleeker forms of extreme metal will want to look elsewhere. Those who enjoy melodic styles of metal will find a lot to enjoy on Beyond, though, as the album is filled to the brim with killer riffs, mesmerizing arrangements, and memorable melodic lines. Stylistically, Omnium Gatherum bears some resemblance to acts like In Flames and Dark Tranquility, but the band also includes some progressive ideas and influences from genres like traditional metal and melodic power metal. Very few of the riffs here sound particularly death metal-oriented, and apart from the predominately growled vocals (which Jukka Pelkonen delivers in a deep and satisfying style), most of the music here could fit comfortably on a melodic metal album (albeit one that would seem rather unconventional).

On Beyond, the listener is treated to an array of moods and forms of expression. Though the album maintains a rather melancholic and reflective tone throughout its entire duration, Omnium Gatherum explores this using atmospheric instrumentals, wondrous guitar leads, and commanding grunts. The band is not content with sticking exclusively to one style, though, and you can hear this when comparing the powerful intro "LuoTo" to the power-death assault in "The Sonic Sign" or the highly progressive "White Palace". In spite of these stylistic shifts, Beyond manages to maintain an epic atmosphere throughout its entire duration, and this cohesion is a large part of what makes this such a special album. Every track is a memorable and unique experience in its own right, but the way they flow together makes Beyond an even more effective listen.

In case my review hasn't made it clear yet, I'm pretty enthusiastic about what Omnium Gatherum has put together for Beyond. It's not too often that I get this excited about a melodeath release, but the maturity and attention to detail exhibited here is masterful, to say the least. As great as New World Shadows was and still is, Omnium Gatherum have refined their sound even further for Beyond, and the result is nothing short of magnificent.