In the Woods... "Omnio" CD
[Candlelight]
In 1997 this, the finest hour of In the Woods..., was originally released by Misanthropy Records, and here it is again, reissued in 2003. I would say this is probably the band's most highly regarded work, and with good reason. I would definitely call this my absolute favorite record of theirs, and it was certainly leaps and bounds ahead of "Heart of the Ages". Here the band heads in a far more focused and progressive direction. The music is even more creative and original, the overall mood is one of sheer, somber intensity, the writing is more fluid and dynamic... it's absolutely amazing - perfectly demonstrated by the practically inimitable opener "299,796 km/s". The singing vocals, while still somewhat "dramatic", are far stronger, they introduce some great operatic female vocals, the balance of lush clean guitars and distorted guitars is evened out, they take the extra step of incorporating a string quartet on a few songs, and so on... They do still flirt with a few faster passages that bear some resemblances to black metal, but the way they play the riffs isn't so vicious, and the tempos tend to be calmer than that, perhaps not always so doom-esque, but there's a lot of that floating around for sure. With songs routinely hitting near, at, or above 10 minutes, they definitely need to keep things as interesting and morphing as they do... so I have no problem with the lengths of the tracks at all. Hell, the three-part title track even takes up half the record at 26 minutes total! The production is slightly muddy, which can be unfortunate as far as details drowning in the thick of it, but for the most part everything sounds very good. I especially love the resonance of the percussion and the distinct bass presence, as the basslines rarely mirror the guitars at all. The layout is the same as the original pressing, with some excellent abstract photos that have always caught my eye, and the lyrics presented in rather plain, but easily legible text amongst a wealth of black space. In a sense the lyrics read like poetry, and are a bit quirkier than those of the first record: "The rain that falls on your branches, just yearning for a source to feed its primal need, can make your beauty blossom from within, with flowers blowing in the wind - and in seasons to follow..." If there's one record to get from this band, "Omnio" is it. This is an absolute benchmark for progressive metal of any form... especially recommended for fans of the doomier side of things. (8/10)
Running time - 63:08, Tracks: 5
[Notable tracks: 299,796 km/s, Omnio]
Candlelight USA - http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk

This review has been displayed 1946 times.