Album Review: Ominum - Monument
Reviewed by Gareth Pugh
Famous for kickstarting the melodic death metal scene, Gothenburg has long had a healthy relationship with metal, even lending its name to a sub-genre, and newcomers Omnium, prove that Sweden continues to be a high-profile nation in the metal scene. Combining said melodic death metal with an equal nod to thrash, the band blend these influences together, along with others, to create a sound which although not ground-breaking, does give them a signature sound.
The album consists of nine bone crunching tracks, the centre piece(s) of which is the three-part title track, Monument I, II and of course III. I’m starting halfway through because this track or tracks really highlight every strength of the band, from its quiet beginnings, including a gorgeous melodic solo, Part I builds with crushing, yet catchy riffs, with Bernard Jozic (guitars & vocals), sounding like a young Max Calavera, and shows his ability to craft a wonderfully complex, yet engaging and attention grabbing slice of modern metal.
Part II with its eastern tinges and more punishing riff set, grabs the baton and runs with it, before Part III again with an eerie start, doesn’t take long to get pounding, the rhythm section of Erik Lindstrand (drums) and Richard Swärd (bass) really locking onto a pulverising beat. These three individual, yet obviously linked tracks really do showcase the bands abilities in a succinct 16 or so minutes, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the album is a slouch, opener Leviticus (In His Name), is a fast complex thrash beast, and the controversially titled The Crescent or the Cross is a minor death metal epic, and the slow grinding Psychosis is a tremendously heavy 8 minutes of doomy, oppressive death/thrash.
The band have self-produced the album, and I have to say they have done a fantastic job, this is stunningly heavy, yet clear as crystal. The guitars have a fantastic tone to them, whether it’s churning out super heavy riffage and chords or twisting melodic leads, while the bass and drums are as solid a bedrock as you can imagine. The band have already started to create ripples in the metal underground and with this album and a planned future EP, I can only see them creating more than ripples and they are soon to become a big splash.
