Band: Omniarch
Album: Omniarch
Label: Self Release
Genre: Progressive Death
Omniarch are rather new to the scene as a unit, but not as individuals. Comprised of seasoned industry veterans from bands This Is War and Netherward, Omniarch are set to make some serious waves with their debut self-titled record which drops on May, 8th.
Lyrically, the themes jump from high fantasy, to sci-fi, to history and mythology. The way Omniarch manages to homogenize progressive death metal with technical influences is wonderful to listen to, and should keep fans of bands like The Black Dahlia Murder and Allegaeon very happy.
Omniarch kick things off with "Caligula," a track about the tyrannical Roman emperor of the same name. Instantly we are introduced to the prog-tech death sounds of the band, and man do they do it well. No instrument seems to outweigh the other, and the vocals from Mackenzie LaHaye are as wild as a wolverine. We are also introduced to the stellar lyric writing, with passages like, "As a young boy, an entitled twit. Praised by the thousands for the sake of his name His father was a man of honor and respect While he was loved for his innocence. Now a grown man. A glutton A filthy whore."
Track two, "A Voracious Awakening," starts off with some great guitar work courtesy of Morgan and Mason. This song details what would happen if one was to transfigure into a wolf, and lyrical passages like, "I've survived the transition, A curse, now a blessing with claws," once again demonstrate their strong writing sensibility. Towards the later half of the song we are treated to a guitar solo that is very solid. Throughout the track Henry Giesbrecht (later replaced by Sean Higgins) keeps a ferocious beat on the skins.
On "Humanaut" we have been given another nasty guitar passage which occurs repeatedly throughout the track. This is likely one of the darker songs, speaking of the destruction of earth due to, well, humanity (go figure). A note I made through this and the prior tracks is that the orchestration of all the instruments, from Jon Hofmann's bass, to the drums, guitars and vocals, are all excellently mixed. "Humanaut" features another great guitar solo at about 2:30 in. This track also has some of the more technical skills come to play from skins master Giesbrecht. There's some great riffing towards the end, with LaHaye screaming words of the end of the world over top.
Omniarch waste no time cutting into the meat of track four. "Ohm Cairn" sees LaHaye diving straight into the tale of a cosmic void god, and of course the instrumentation is still the same orchestrated chaotic energy it's been. The strongest point on the track is the way the guitars seem to lead the direction with well placed riffs and little licks here and there. Watch the lyric video for "Ohm Carin" below.
"Wrath Of Erymanthos" sees the punishment of an individual who has lost their humanity, and therefore no traditional retribution is fitting. Punishing passages from the drums blast their way forward as the guitar scrambles the senses. Towards the end of the track LaHaye lays down the verdict through some sickening growls with riffs backing up behind him. The song ends off with the villain being devoured by Erymanthian Boar from Greek mythology.
Song six on the release, "Pathfinder," is what I'd call an inspirational piece. The lyrics look at the potential of the youth in the world, speaking of how we can change destiny by each decision we make. The band continues with their soon to be signature combination of technical progressive death, featuring ground shattering percussive passages and a skyrocketing guitar solo.
The closer, "Ursa Major," starts off a tad differently with some chunky guitar riffs over Giesbrecht's wailing on the drums. Omniarch never falter with their ferocity, as is clear-cut throughout the entire record. We are delivered yet more soaring solos from the guitar, as well as further demonstrations of the preeminent lyric writing.
Overall, Omniarch have furnished us all with an excellent record.
I'm giving Omniarch a 9/10