Album review: Omnium Gatherum “Origin”
Finland’s Omnium Gatherum returns with a new line-up and an album filled with progressive and pop-influenced melodic death metal with a difference.
Finnish band Omnium Gatherum combines heavy guitar and drum-based metal music with melodic keyboard-driven soundscapes. They live under the broad umbrella called melodic death metal, but their modern signature sound has more keyboards than most other bands in that subgenre. They also have a tendency to weave catchy pop-like tunes and progressive elements into the music. They have been at it for more than a quarter of a century by now. Since the last album, 2018’s “The Burning Cold”, the band has lost three members. The band’s founder and leader Markus Vanhala (on guitar and clean vocals) is joined in the band’s current line-up by Jukka Pelkonen (vocals) and Aapo Koivisto (keyboards) as well as the new additions Mikko Kivistö (bass and clean vocals) and Atte Pesonen (drums). The new members seem to have settled in quickly and helped the band create another great album. The dreamy “Fortitude” has a great choir adding a terrific contrast to Jukka Pelkonen’s harsh growls. I dig the mixes of styles on tracks such as “Prime”, “Unity” and “Solemn”. On a track like the splendid “Tempest”, the band is closer to “normal” melodic death metal. Personally, I like Omnium Gatherum’s take on the melodic death metal genre. It’s a fine blend of full-on aggression and beautiful melodies. There are plenty of style changes within each song and album. It’s refreshing and brings some musical surprises here and there.
Omnium Gatherum’s album “Origin” will be out on 5th November via Century Media Records.
