IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=6848 - Trickster F. (Ivan Sturov)
PROG REVIEWER

Omnio - Everything you will ever wish to find under the label of Progressive Metal

It is always a symbolic happening when a group manages to produce an effort that stands out and shines brightly among similar creations or done in the same style or scene, for the reasons of avoiding all clichés associated with them and yet accomplishing a sound that can represent the entire genre of music, showing it attractive, inspired in perfection and original. These words can be said about In The Woods...'s Omnio - group's crowning achievement; the Kind Of Blue or White Album of Progressive Metal. However, what separates Omnio from the above timeless classics, taken only as an example, is that the group never made it to the peak of their popularity and, in the end, quit the career when there was seemingly infinite amounts of creativity still left for further masterpieces. This is a tragedy, as their second offering deserves as much attention as the above references. How can this be explained? The answer is dull, yet simple: In The Woods... quite bluntly expressed themselves in a honest, most sincere ways, that were not constructed to appeal to the public on purpose. All of their albums, including this one, remain inaccessible, yet would appeal to various types of listeners, even those who do not sympathise to the genre itself, if only given the right amount of time.

So, what is the difference between Omnio and the rest of the group's offerings that makes it stand out from this vast genre? The reasons are many. First of all, this is the collective's most ambitious effort to date, though it is not the ambition that makes it so memorable. The muse of songwriting was on the group's side as completely as it can be imagined, it seems, and the main songwriter guitarist Chris X-Botteri, who wrote the guitar parts, which hold most of the album's structure and make it literally a spiritual adventure, seems to have been enlightened by some dazzling revelation that nobody had got before him and will never truly understand. Add excellent musicianship, unity of the members and sincerity to that and you will realize that the result couldn't have been any better.

If you have been reading this review attentively and you are unfamiliar with the album, the first question that will spring to mind: what does this sound like? What is the structure? This will not be a difficult question for answer, as every new In The Woods... record seems to wander further and further away from specific standards, making it nearly impossible to find and choose the right words to create an appropriate descriptions, drawing the right associations. It is recommended to listen to it on your own to find out, however, as it has already been mentioned, the first listen will hardly reveal all the little nuances, that make Omnio a masterpiece. Musically, this is a concept album, although there is no lyrical concept surrounding all of its five(or if you count the title track Omnio to be a single composition, then it is seven)components. The songs not only flow surprisingly well and go into each other stylistically - each composition seems like a reference to another, adding something you must have missed and failed to experience initially. There is a variety of moods combined, and also seem be intertwined and connected together in each of the compositions, making the album diversely solid. The musicianship is another essential component that deserves to be noted. There seriously is not anything that can provoke complaints regarding it, yet if you listen to the record to hear skilled musicians play, chances are you will be heavily disappointed. There is neither a single unnecessary note, nor a musical direction to show off for the sake of showing the instrumental prowess; and yet, whilst musicianship is solely dependant on the directions the songwriting takes, each instrument and voice sounds exactly like it was meant to sound, to pass the right feeling, message and mood with grand precision.

Speaking about the instrumental components of the album, it first needs to be said that it is very guitar based. There are constantly three guitars playing in harmony, creating complex layers of sound without losing the expressive tendencies. While the debut album contained a persistent usage of keyboards, Omnio does not rely on them too much, although they do appear in the appropriate sections. The bass guitar playing is remarkably audible, and the bass lines often stick out, especially in the mellow parts. The drumming could have been mixed better, honestly speaking, although the drumming has indeed become more complex on this release. The vocals are also a strong improvement from the first full-length release. Jan Transit's voice has got stronger, and he sings all the parts with distinctive expression, as opposed to the atmospheric approach to singing taken on HEart of the Ages. Synne Diana, the female student vocalist of the group, plays a significantly more important role in delivering the message now, Kairos! is the track she performs vocals on exclusively and the title track is also mostly covered by her great soprano voice. Another unique instrument is the lyrics. The music of the debut album was almost instrumental in places, with lyrics used on occasion. The philosophical mind that questions everything and the poetical skill of whoever is responsible for lyrics in the group had a dramatic improvement during the two years between the two releases, and lyrics are now an additional instrumental, guiding the voices and instruments and the music's overall mood.

The celestial epic 299 796 km/s opens the album, beginning with divine, mellow violins, followed by a mysterious, slow guitar riff, opening a new landscape, that removes you from the world you live and engrosses you completely. This possession will last for the next hour, so be well prepared. The composition is incredibly spontaneous, changing and progressing all the time. The culminations are many; there are various mellow and emotional parts, all connected together. It seems that the first track consists of a large number of culminations, where the music absorbs you completely and you learn something absolutely refreshing and new. I Am Your Flesh is the next track and it is almost the exact polar opposite of the predecessor, although the group's style remains the same. The lyrics are intimate and so personal, that perhaps it was not the right idea to utilize them in the song at all. The lyrics aren't Jan's, yet he was so deeply impressed and felt the sorrow of the author, that he was able to deliver the lyrics in a way I can not compare to anything I have heard before. This track will seem raw and unpleasant at first, and there is a clearly a reason for that. The lyrics express pain, grief and insanity in an extremely abstract way, without resorting to aggression, as strange as it may sound. The lyrics, much like on the other tracks, are impossible to really understand the way it was meant to be, although one can and should make his own interpretation of the message. Myself, I have associations of an inability to feel love, grief concerning problems of intimate character and madness. Once the topic reaches insanity, Jan's voice unleashes a grotesque growl. It should be noted that extreme singing style is not used to sing the lyrics anymore, and is used only in a limited number of moments, when the songwriting reaches its culmination. The guitar solo in the end of the track, which fades out, ending the song, is very disturbing, if you have been listening attentively enough.

Kairos! is the next track and is more uplifting than its depressing predecessor, with Diana handling the vocal duties perfectly. Despite the short length, the traits of the music are similar to the other tracks; it is a very captivating track, especially for its length. Weeping Willow is the next epic composition, and this times the vocal duties are Jan's once again. This is a very dark, mesmerizing number with usage of pianos in unison with the guitar riffs, which the structure relies on heavily on, in the beginning and keyboards in the end. The last 25+ minutes of the album are occupied by the title track Omnio separated on three sections, the first and the last part containing half of the above mentioned culmination the record has to offer. The emotional level of expression reaches its peak here, and all instruments and voices create a hypnotising, trance-like state here, that I have never been able to witness before. They are interrupted by the eerie Space Rock instrumental Bardo Omnio , that will remind many of Pink Floyd. It is a spacy, keyboard driven interlude, that evolves almost like a Post Rock strong, building up, accompanied by guitars and then suddenly exploding together with a high shriek, calming down afterwards and going into the last track, which leads the album to its grand finale.

Simply put, Omnio is a unique, original, ambitious and inspired album, that will appeal to any intellectual and adventurous listener. It is highly recommended and essential for every person, who took the time to read the content of this page, regardless of who you are - a Progressive Metal fan or an outsider to the genre for whatever reasons, including the belief that the genre is stagnant and full of stereotypes, which Omnio is devoid of completely.

In The Woods... sophomore release is a Masterpiece in the true meaning of the word!

Posted Tuesday, July 11, 2006, 09:51 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=83438 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=1122 - hdfisch (Dieter Fischer)
PROG REVIEWER

I think there shouldn’t be any question (at least in prog metal circles) about the fact that IN THE WOODS... was an exceptional band leaving behind a legacy which will stay unforgettable for many underground artists. This Norwegian band combined that many influences and styles in their compositions to be really called eclectic in the true sense and they merely defied any categorization. Whether it’s Pagan Folk, Ambient, Classical, Psychedelic, 70’s Prog and of course Nordic Black Metal, it’s all there in their music. Their debut was already quite sensational and uncommon in the Black (Pagan) Metal scene, still considerably more rough and wild but with their second full-length album “Omnio” they released their definite masterpiece. The genre-typical screaming, riffing and drumming style vanished here completely and instead we get here five perfectly done haunting compositions filled with a mesmerizing atmosphere at times sounding like being not of this world but not without having the right portion of heaviness at the same time.

The five tracks on here, three of them exceeding the 10-min mark can offer everything any fan of sombre and melancholic prog metal is looking for. They’re accessible without being catchy, reveal an enriched sound using acoustic instruments like violin, viola, cello and piano without showing any sign of bombast and own a high variability and emotionality using intense, expressive, clear and well comprehensible vocals (both male and female). Growls are being used very sparsely and only in appropriate moments to emphasize a certain mood. As well the (very pleasant, strong and highly skilled) female vocals aren’t omnipresent at all but have been used only when needed. Thus for those people being scared of getting something like Theatre Of Tragedy or any “beauty-and-the-beast”-type of Gothic Metal band I can clearly say, there isn’t any similarity to such bands to be found on here. BTW the female singer on this disk (Synne "Soprana" Larsen) is the same one to be heard on GREEN CARNATION’s first two releases. Not to forget mentioning the beautiful, highly poetic lyrics of this work which are certainly worth taking a closer look at. In “Omnio-Bardo” there’s also the most celestial electronic sound I’ve ever heard on here. Actually I couldn’t find any detailed information about which equipment they’ve been used for that and in fact I’ve to say they failed completely to reproduce this atmosphere on stage at the Caledonian Hall concert (there it sounded just like a noisy mess). It sounds as something like a Theremin or maybe some amp-effect but anyway absolutely unique and spine-chilling like the whole of this masterly done album.

To sum up my review I just can say that “Omnio” must be considered a definite must-have in any metal-oriented prog collection. This album is really exceptional and extraordinary providing an ultimate experience of haunting and goose-bumping music even after hundreds of spins. Though usually I’m trying to be mean with my 5-star-ratings I think this one fully deserves it.

Posted Friday, November 10, 2006, 02:06 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=97957 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=1995 - el böthy (matias boettner)
PROG REVIEWER

Unlike my fellow reviewers before me, I am not that enthusiastic about this album. I find it to be quite good, the band is original, but all the songs are pretty much the same, especially when it comes to the sound of this album, it doesn’t change, it stays the same from start to finish. Some might call that their personal sound, granted, it is, but then this is a very monotonous one; some variation would be more than welcomed from my part.

Now, not everything is lost, because, if we take every song on it’s own, they are all good, it’s just that as they are so similar that after 30 minutes into the album you might want to stop listening, having no interest in the rest, ´cause you already found out, that it all sounds quite the same, which is a pity, ´cause you will not enjoy the last songs…

If one must take one song to show the essence of the album, that should be, without any sort of hesitation, the opener: "299 796 km/s", and I repeat: without any sort of hesitation! This song is an absolute masterpiece, one of the best in the whole metal genre if you ask me. The way it opens, so dramatically (well, actually I would say that that is one of the characteristics of this band, the dramatically, emotional cuasi operatic feel this band has is what makes them stand aside from the rest of the Black, Death, or Gothic metal scene). Then the crescendo, and when finally the vocals drop in, then you have one of the best moments in metal history my friends. But after that, no track, so song comes remotely close to it… and why is that? Well, mainly (for me at least) ´cause they didn’t try to think outside their own box… all songs after this one seem (to me) like "299 796 km/s" 2… Of course, they are not exactly alike, but the sound… the sound is the exact replica…

After saying this reader can hesitate if getting this might be a good idea… well… do it, get it! It is a very original piece of work, and you might not agree with me, many before me didn’t… and even if you agree with me, you still must give them credit for "299 796 km/s"… really, it’s an outstanding song, I even say, just get this ´cause of this song!

Posted Saturday, March 24, 2007, 15:12 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=116284 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=9980 - sinkadotentree (john davie)
PROG REVIEWER

The soundscapes provided on this album are melancholic,dark,crushingly heavy,tormented,pastoral and heartbreakingly beautiful. "299 796 km/s" opens with violin,and the heaviness is not far behind.Dual vocals come in as the song speeds up.There is a female soprano vocal melody before it gets pastoral again with violin(like intro).There is some mind bending guitar as well as some wonderful vocals from Synne,she can sing so beautifuly and yet sound so tortured at the same time.The throbbing bass is great,and so is the heaviness 14 minutes in.This song somehow can draw out my emotions."I am your Flesh" opens with blazing guitar,vovals and heavy riffs from the get go.It slows down 80 seconds in,before accellerating again with screaming guitar,incredible bass and pounding drums.This contrast continues,from atmospheric to very powerful.Amazing!"Kairos!" is the shortest with heavy guitars and those wonderful female vocals.Nice drumming on this one as well."Weeping Willow" has such a great guitar melody,then it gets heavy again of course.Some keys in this one as the melody speeds up.The sound becomes punishingly heavy as bass and drums lead the way 6 minutes in.The sound continues to be crushing with some scorching guitar solos.Nice.Great song! The final section "Omnio?" is over 26 minutes long and is divided into 3 parts.It starts with "Omnio?(pre)" as the guitars,violin and vocals lead the way.The song starts to build quickly 3 and a half minutes in and explodes with drums and a scathing guitar solo.More great guitar to follow and unearthly vocals.The sound 9 minutes in is ecstacy to my ears.More incredible bass."Omnio?(bardo)" has this experimental,spacey synth intro.Drums and guitar follow at a slow pace,but they start to build as the spacey soundscape continues!Holy crap!Unbelievable!"Omnio?(post)" opens with mellow piano and female vocals as sound increases.Male vocals and heavy riffs follow.Things quiet down as reserved male vocals are joined by spacey synths.Some scorching guitar as sound speeds up to the end of the song.What a ride!Let's do it again! This is essential,and i can guarantee if you liked GREEN CARNATION's "Light Of Day,Day Of Darkness",you'll love this one too.Actually the Botteri brother's and the female singer Synne from IN THE WOODS..., were part of GREEN CARNATION's first album "Journey To the End Of the Night" from 2000.In THE WOODS... last studio record came out in 1999 "Strange In Stereo" and then these three became part of GREEN CARNATION for one album only.I confess to have a rooted interest in Norwegian music,as my family history goes way back to Norway via Scotland.And i will say again, the music from this album will draw out of your heart and soul things you may not have felt in a long time.An emotional masterpiece!

Posted Saturday, March 31, 2007, 00:45 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=116919 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=12042 - Finnforest (James)
PROG REVIEWER

“as I turned my fragile skin-I reached Omnio…”

“Omnio” is a dark, melodic album with a crushing wall of guitar sound guaranteed to please fans of metal and guitar-based prog rock. The mood is mostly dark, spacey, and quite hypnotic.

The 15 minute opener starts with lovely yet tense strings that lead into the first of many monster chordal assaults, some slow and lumbering, some chugging at maniacal speeds. There are nice transitions that do not sound forced. The vocals consist of a male/female team who are both decent, dramatic, sometimes even operatic in sound. Occasionally the heavy rock stops and you move into calm waters where acoustic guitars and strings clear the air-these moments are very nice and provide a well rounded experience. And the melodies in these quiet portions are very beautiful. This is really a great song that is accessible to all prog fans, not just prog-metal fans. “I am your flesh” begins with more dual-guitar chug. They love to layer the guitars and let them twirl over each other which gives the album a unique sound-very powerful. The drumming is plenty competent but I agree with another reviewer who noted that the mix seems a bit strange on the drums. This track is OK but probably the least interesting and most predictable to me. “Kairos” is next and this is a short vocal track that is really lovely and haunting. Next comes “Weeping Willow” which continues the vibrant guitars while the early vocals are softly delivered over piano and are hard to understand. The song picks up speed to a good clip and coasts until the 7 minute mark when it gets better with a softer prelude to a nice guitar solo. The long title track is last and begins with a spacey sequence giving way to acoustics and strings again. Lovely. This song is another stunner on par with the opener: lots of movement, lots of changes, passionate vocals, interesting chord changes, beautiful lead work, creepy psych passages. What a great closer!.

So in summary this album is bookended by two tracks that are just absolute stunners, and together they comprise most of the album. I can easily recommend the album on the strength of those two songs. However I believe that “Flesh” and “Willow” are well below the quality of those two songs. They do not sustain their length and are less interesting and far less adventurous. The short breather “Kairos” is somewhere in between. So not a masterpiece in my eyes but still mostly excellent.

The booklet features some nice artwork and the complete lyrics.

Posted Tuesday, July 03, 2007, 21:40 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=127484 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=1252 - V0lcaN0

In the Woods give another meaning to the term of progress. Mid-tempo or slow orchestrations with violins, slow guitars and accompaning vocals create a unique atmosphere. This album is the band's best(along with Strange in Stereo) and clearly deserves everyone's attention. From the start of the album 299.796km/h take you to a magic journey through valleys and lakes into some unknown places that are created by your fantasy as you listen to the outstanding music created by this band. The lead singer is the most fitting one possible for this type of music, and there is also Synne Larsen, probably the best female singer I have heard. I am your flesh is a rather aggressive, sick and scary song, while kairos and weeping willow motivate you in different ways until you reach the conclusion, the divided into three parts track Omnio. This is a journey for something uncertain, through melodies painted in landscapes and sceneries, a search for something, a search for omnio, until you find it in the end, uncertain of what you have found, and if it was worth all this effort. And I don't mean the album, because as hard it might seem at first, it is definetely worth listening. A clear masterpiece of a unique style of music.

Is this the Omnio that I've been searching for?

Posted Thursday, January 13, 2005, 14:59 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=33405 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=2730 - ulver982 (Chris)

Great album!! It's nothing like their 2 previous albums, HEart of the Ages and A Return to the Aisle of Man. Don't be put off by the so-called black metal influences. You'll only hear two growls in the whole album and that's in I Am Your Flesh. So if you listened to the sample mp3 on the site, don't worry, not a single growl in site for the rest of the album. In their next couple of albums, the growls are taken away altogether. In The Woods' music is dark yet beautiful at the same time...it's definetly headphone music, and you'll need a few listens to hear everything. The use of the 5-string quartet and piano in their music is superb. The highlight of the album is the epic 3-part Omnio? (pre, bardo, post). The song has everything you could want in an epic..tempo changes, wonderful melodies, and great musicanship. The song keeps you guessing as to what they're going to do next and hardly anything is repeated. What really caught my ear is the great melody and lyrics that you'll hear in "pre"(done with male vocal) and the repeat of it in "bardo" (female vocal). Yet it sounds new because of the different vocals, the overall music, and the 15 minutes that past since you last heard it. I wish In The Woods... would get more recognition on this site, being the great band they are, or should I say were :(. 5 star masterpiece...ever since I heard this album 6 yeras ago, it still blows me away today.

Posted Friday, September 02, 2005, 20:22 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=45312 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=9181 - Asphalt (liviu gajora)

a very special album, quite dissapointed it doesn't get more attention

i rated this one four stars; while not being essential for someone who wants to get an accurate image of progressive music, it is an excellent addition to any prog collection

now, to answer just one more question, in what way is it prog? i like to think of this album rather as avant-garde music than prog metal, just so you don't make any associations that might have nothing to do with this band, but that is of little importance; just to make one thing clear, the music here only uses metal sound as a support and not it's main artistic expression, which lies in it's powerful emotion; both voices [male and female] deliver impressive, powerful, at times heart-wretching performances

before going in depth with the structure of this lp, i'm just going to say that this is a truly remarcable album, one which i recommend to all those who fell prog metal is a bit too much for them; it's really not, once you get to see that you can create music that is metal, is emotional and is also varied and complex; one of the mood-iest, with perfect fitting vocals and an absolutely unique instrumentation, superb blend of gothic-doom feeling with progressive tendencies [have i mentioned how powerfully emotional this is?]

well, now that the subjective part is over... just a uick spin through:

299 796 km/s - perfect opener: strong, epic, haunting; if you're hooked on this one you will most surely be hooked on the rest, and you will never get bored [needles to say, your world of sadness will never be the same again]

I Am Your Flesh - with a rather abrupt and at the same time catchy [but not in the poppish way] intro, this track is a perfect follow-up to the opening one; the atmosphere on this one is so intense that is almost impossible to leave you indifferent; if by now you had any doubts, you WILL know after listening to this if you like the album or not; powerful intro, creepy mellower parts and pure genius crescento ["I lost my eyes, I lost my head, I lost my flesh and my heart"]

Kairos! - rather an intermezzo, a break from all that epic feeling, small gem with female vocals that go just so right with the instrumentation part and lyrics; don't skip this one, it all ads up

Weeping Willow - most likely one of the most progressive of the bunch, this is quite a song; although it lacks the catchiness of the previouses, it's still got plenty of emotion, beautiful arrangements and excellent song-writing; sometimes i feel this one drags a bit towards the end, but then the feeling fades away :)

Omnio? (pre) (12:00) - first part of what's actually just one song; again, slow-building intro towards an explosion of creativity and sorrow

Omnio? (bardo) (5:55) - one of the best moments on the album; pink floyd metal if you wish, careful with that axe, eugene, done by suicidal drug-addicts; the real thing, you name it, it's probabely it

Omnio? (post) (8:09) - not necessarily outstanding but fits in very well and provides a suitable ending

well, by this time you'd better put this one on your to buy or at least to listen list; it doesn't really matter what you usually listen to, if you're in the right mood, it just might grab you; and if you're not, give it another try when you are

Posted Saturday, July 08, 2006, 16:13 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=83140 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=9230 - Lord Valderon (Shaun)

Amazing. I don't wish to get into a lengthy explanation of the intricate sounds this album portrays, I just want to say whole heartidly that this is one of the best albums I have ever heard. They just seem to cullminate all the different genres of music I love and search for. Therefore, I couldn't refuse a five star rating in this case because, although it has it very few aggressive moments, I beleive they are essential in building the many scapes and emotions they seem to want to project. This is a hard to find band, one of those undiscovered mysteries that can be uncovered after some determined digging - and once it is given a chance, I have no problem in stating that this album is 100% essential.

Posted Monday, July 10, 2006, 19:23 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=83372 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=6370 - zaxx (Olivier Benard)

An amazing album... very emotional piece of work from a so called "black metal" band. In fact, it sounds more like a mix of atmospheric metal, doom metal and dark rock with an operatic feeling... nothing black metal at all. It has the emotion of Anathema, the darkness and sadness of Katatonia and the epicness of Opeth.

"299 796 km/s" opens the album with a great epic which perfectly summarizes everything that can be found on the album - operatic male and female vocals, great guitar lines enhanced by classical instruments (violin, viola, cello), metallic moments blending with more mellow passages but always in an emotional way. "I Am Your Flesh" starts more aggressively with heavy guitars and even a few angry grunts, but very quickly it turns into a sorrowful piece of dark metal, with vocal emotions ranging from anger to despair. "Kairos!" is the only short track on the album, and it's totally different from the rest of the songs here - it's a ballad that starts with acoustic guitar solo and only female vocals can be heard (the last half of the song really sounds like a Tristania ballad... the female vocalist really has a wonderful voice). "Weeping Willow" is my least favorite track on the album - this second epic has a quite long and boring intro, but things start to get better after 3 minutes when the heavier guitars take the lead. "Omnio?" ends the album like it began, with an awesome epic, a 25 minutes long song divided in three parts. "Pre" starts with the "Paradise Lost" sounding guitar (like on the first song) and again a mix of male and female operatic vocals (the female sings both in english and french on this song). The last guitar line fades out and "bardo" starts like a keyboard interlude before acoustic then electric guitars join for the eeriest moment on the album, ending on an angry scream. "Post" starts with a piano intro and female vocals - another beautiful moment - before growing again with guitars, strings and male vocals like on the first part of the song.

Rating: 97/100 (5 stars - highly recommended)

Posted Sunday, December 10, 2006, 06:35 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=102351 - Permanent link

IN THE WOODS... — Omnio

Review by http://www.progarchives.com/Collaborators.asp?id=4553 - FruMp (Richard Ingham)

Dreary depressing modern metal.

Omnio is a very drawn out and sombre album in much the same way a lot of OPETH's music is, it's one of those things that as a metal fan you either love or hate, unfortunately as much as I hate to say it I fall into the latter category. Omnio starts out with '299 796 km/s' (better known as the speed of light) which starts off with some melancholy violin before the band comes in and the slow paced metal journey begins, there are a few black metal moments, some operatic moments, a lot of depressing moments and it's just above mediocre for the most part, it really fails to hold my attention for it's 15 minute span, the next 3 songs are more of the same, contemplative and sad with not a lot going on.

Where the album does get interesting though is in the Omnio suite consisting of 3 songs finishing off the album, they are a lot more progressive and interesting than the early tracks. 'Omnio Bardo' is the highlight of the album, it's a great little ambient track with good use of dynamics and it has a real spacey feel it, the album then ends strongly on 'post' with the first real double kick on the album and some more black metally riffs.

Omnio is a decent album but only for those who enjoy this type of music for the most part it is lacking substance and is caught in it's black hole of depression, I'd only recommend this to fans of modern accessible metal, OPETH and GREEN CARNATION fans will certainly enjoy.

Posted Tuesday, October 23, 2007, 11:47 EST | http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=146533 - Permanent link

 

Track Listings

1. 299 796 km/s (14:46)
2. I Am Your Flesh (7:07)
3. Kairos! (3:34)
4. Weeping Willow (11:40)
5. Omnio? (pre) (12:00)
6. Omnio? (bardo) (5:55)
7. Omnio? (post) (8:09)

Total Time: 63:11

Releases information

Misanthropy / Amazonian Music amazon011 1997