Omnium Gatherum - Beyond 2013

This is the album that seems be liked by everybody. Omnium Gatherum is a unique combination of melodic and death metal. I'm impressed quickly by how contrast between their music and the growling singing. It's best describe as rainy drum in very atmospheric synthesizer and riffs. They are from Finland and should explain some of Wintersun thick orchestration style in it. The album called Beyond is their sixth full release. It is quickly went high in chart and positive popularity in almost every metal reviewer pages I visit.

The atmosphere quickly built up after the instrumental intro Luoto. A dynamic keys opening in New Dynamic followed soon by aggressive death voice by Jukka Pelkonen. Still, the effect of having a very wet chorus in whole song suggest this genre is best enjoyed by the death metal fans, rather to melodic metal listener. But then in the variation in the end, a male AOR chanting will puzzling to first listener like me. In The Rim come next as more 'normal' melodic death metal, with easy to follow groove. Yet again the chanting exist there just to finish the atmospheric elements. Then they sounds better when coming with darker, doom-er, mood just as in the eight minutes long Nightwalkers. Of the synthesizer effect, The Sonic Sign is another good composition that will take your feeling into different moods. The band also released the videoclip for the later track, The Unknowing. A ultra speed yet dooming tempo, all with awesome melodious phrases in between. Then Living In Me is the only straight forward track without too emo here and there. The last composition is a ten minutes White Palace, which fortunately for me, a track without showering riffs and drums.

Beyond is no doubt a works with many stand up moments. They successfully transform the listening session into musical meditation, with lots of hypnotizing licks. The feeling of outdoor, landscape, spacey, new age, with a death metal singing is surely something special. The melody department, guitars and keyboards never let a second slip without a layer of distortions and strings. Solos with all its wet chorus are well composed and really connect each parts of the song. The death metal voice is weird in first space, it sound unconnected, especially with all the too-soft music in the background. Imagine if the death metal voice convert into clean singing, that will change the concept very much. But of course Omnium Gatherum choose to implemented growl vocal and the result is something we just need to enjoy. Many reviewer praised this album in the same vibe of their last release, New World Shadows, which was one of their best album. A very appealing integration between melodic and even power metal elements into death metal situation.

Metal Harem class: ******** eight stars out of ten

Omnium Gatherum - Beyond 2013
buy it here at Amazon

01. Luoto
02. New Dynamic
03. In The Rim
04. Nightwalkers
05. Formidable
06. The Sonic Sign
07. Who Could Say
08. The Unknowing
09. Living In Me
10. White Palace

Markus Vanhala - Guitar
Jukka Pelkonen - Vocals
Jarmo Pikka - Drums
Aapo Koivisto - Keyboards
Joonas Koto - Guitar
--
Eerik Purdon - Session bassist at the moment