"The Fall of Ominus" by Nephren-Ka

Do you ever wonder where metal bands get their names or often times the content of their songs?

Ok, truth time, metallers are big ol'nerds. Comb the Led Zeppelin lyrics carefully and you'll hear Lord of the Rings references, and this was before the Peter Jackson movies. Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons were huge on Science Fiction and Horror respectively.

So, these guys took their name from the Cthulu Mythos. Even the mighty Metallica has used that name, though they misspelled it.

These nice French boys have started a death metal band with some very obvious nerdy references and lyrical content. Encyclopaedia Metallum lists their lyrical content as influenced Frank Hebert's Dune. Ok, this is about as nerdy as it gets, unless you think about this song here. 

Angry in France.

The music contained in this album is heavy, angry, growly, and blast beaty.

This is a  younger death metal group who has learned from their elders and added some nice touches here and there, but they have done so without sounding like they're trying to reinvent the wheel, which is good, because metal doesn't like too much change all at once. (Remember what happened when Metallica cut their hair?)

The vocals are in the style of Mr. Glen Benton of Deicide. Throaty growls followed by higher pitched screams. The bass guitar is where we see a bit of convention defying, because not only can you hear it, but there are some nice little bass riffs, including a couple little funk lines.

The drums are of course death metal drums. It's a monolithic perpetual motion machine that blasts, crashes, and keeps the madness on the tracks.

The guitars are what I really noticed. There are times where the guitars aren't even trying to cut over the thudda thudda chugga chugga of the rhythm section, but chime in to lay the song foundation here and there. The solos aren't so much as ripped as they are crafted to fit the songs. Many of them are slower, mellow, and bluesy, but here and there he just can't keep the shred out of it. Like Dr. Strangelove's hand, the sweep picked arpeggios make themselves known.

This is a great record that pays homage to the style while breaking the rules enough to differentiate it from the rest of the death metal world. This is an album very much worth having.

Year: 09/2013
Genre: Metal
Label: Kaotoxin
Runtime: 43:39
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Tracklisting:
1) Butlerian Djihad
2) Mastering The Voice
3) Legend of Selim (Pt. 1)
4) The Rise of Ominus
5) Feydakins Storm
6) The Cymek Revolution
7) Legend of Selim (Pt. 2)
8) Praise Shai-Hulud
9) To The Golden Path

Purchase the album here.