OMNIUM GATHERUM — Beyond (review)

Album · 2013 · Melodic Death Metal

4.5/5 · 2013-04-19
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.