Archive for September, 2011

Album of the day: Omit – Repose

Posted on Sunday, September 25th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from Hammer Smashed Sound: Omit is a female-fronted melodic doom metal band from Oslo, Norway. I admit I had never heard of them until my friend Jon from The Inarguable “liked” them on Facebook. I checked out their page, and within seconds was gloriously transfixed, caught within some of the catchiest, most memorable, and heaviest doom riffs I’ve heard in a long time.

Repose, Omit’s debut album, is quite simply, one of the most hauntingly beautiful albums you will hear this year. I’ve been struggling to write this review for a while because it’s hard to write about something so straightforward and perfect. Vocalist Cecilie Langlie delivers the vocals in a consistently heartbreaking manner, conveying the sorrowful atmosphere of this double album in a way that few other vocalists (in any genre) could even come close too.

The inclusion of real strings (in addition to sublime keyboards) in extended orchestral passages adds a layer of realness that keyboards alone simply could not approach. No shortcuts were taken in the production of this record – the band obviously went to great lengths to make this record sound a particular way, and the attention given to every part of it has paid off big-time; while I generally like to hear some rawness in metal production and sound engineering, the only thing raw about this record is the emotional weight of it. But given the final product, it is impossible to call it over-produced.

Do not be scared off when I bring up the word “gothic.” Gothic metal clearly plays a significant role in the sound of this record, but to simply label it as such sells the band short, as there is clearly much more going on. First and foremost, I think of this as a doom album, and a damned good and heavy one. There isn’t much headbanging to be done here, but it’s till one of the heaviest records that you’ll hear.

Continue reading: HSS: Omit, Repose.

Tags: Album of the day, Cecilie Langlie, doom, Hammer Smashed Sound, Omit, Repose
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Album of the day: Mournful Congregation – The Unspoken Hymns

Posted on Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Praise for Mournful Congregation‘s The Unspoken Hymns from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: It’s been a while since we hauled out the extra o’s, but really it’s sorta impossible to describe Australian ultra doomlords Mournful Congregation without a bunch of em, cuz this is truly some epic, grim, funereal dooooooooooooooooooooom. Which avid readers of ...read more

Goatsnake: Pro-Shot Footage From France’s Hellfest

Posted on Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Professionally filmed video footage of Goatsnake’s performance at this year’s Hellfest, which took place June 17-19, 2011 in Clisson, France, can be seen below.

Red Fang: Pro-Shot Footage From France’s Hellfest

Posted on Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Professionally filmed video footage of Red Fang‘s performance at this year’s Hellfest, which took place June 17-19, 2011 in Clisson, France, can be seen below.

Album of the day: Falloch – Where Distant Spirits Remain

Posted on Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Lovingly pinched from Metal UK: Falloch are a very new band having only formed in 2010. The duo take their name from their natural environment, namely the Falls of Falloch waterfall in Crianlarich Scotland. Typing this into an image search you will see that the nature of the area is ...read more