Omnium Gatherum "Spirits and August Light" CD
[Rage of Achilles]
This is the debut full-length from this Finnish act who plays your general melodic Swedish death metal, adding in their own flare with a few keyboard textures and some blazing classic metal solos. Expect lots of dual guitar harmonies, some tremolo picking, a few heavier power chord rhythms, midrange vocal snarls, a constant sense of melody, an occasional power metal vibe, etc. It's not unlike their EP at all, but they have improved on the recording a bit. The drums aren't as obnoxious, they're still taut, but they work. The bass is a lot more evident, the mix is fuller and smoother, etc. The guitar tone takes a little bit of getting used to because the distortion is rather dry, but the way the bass and the synths interact with the guitars helps. The vocals sound fine, and are mixed right along with the guitars, so overall they're definitely heading in the right direction. "The Perfumed Garden" starts out with a brief clean snippet before breaking into some excellent guitar harmonies and lead runs, and the layering of power chords with pristine acoustic guitars is really nice. Overall the writing for this track is more interesting and diverse than usual, definitely proving that the band has their own take on the style. Another standout is "The Emptiness of Spirit", which is definitely a lot more energetic than most of this stuff tends to be these days, and effectively combines most all of the band's influences into one concise track. "Son's Thoughts" has a huge Amorphis feel during the intro, very much akin to something that might have been on "Tuonela", and the rest of the piece sounds eerily similar to some of Dark Tranquillity's later work, but it's still a great song. I really don't care for the layout at all because it's just plain and very boring looking. I like the fact that all the text is crisp and easy to read, but visually the design is very bland. The lyrics are strange, sometimes hitting on some nice lines such as "The days to settle down, to hear what's going low, There's a bitter old ghost and a side trail every morning, How many paths must a man walk down before you call him a man?" and others heading in the opposite direction with nonsense like "The spirit blowing the answer to an asshole's face..." I'm not sure what that's about. If they work on the lyrics and the recording a little bit more they'll really be onto something wonderful. Their playing is flawless and the songwriting is really quite good 90% of the time, so I'm definitely still keeping a steady eye on the band's progress. Another solid effort... they're on their way. (6/10)
Running time - 41:56, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: The Perfumed Garden, Wastrel, Son's Thoughts]
Rage of Achilles - http://www.rageofachilles.com

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