On the brink of the Finnish Midsummer festivities, Helsinki-based tech-death squad OMNIVORTEX blessed us with the first single from their upcoming sophomore studio album “Circulate.” Bearing the title, “Dwells,” the song is also the opener for the new outing that was released on September 29th, 2023, via Inverse Records. After the first couple of spins, back in the summer, I could not avoid thinking that the timing of the single was more than appropriate; you see, since the Olden Days in this country, bonfires as well as making noise and getting tipsy have been an integral part of the Midsummer to keep evil spirits at bay; the new OMNIVORTEX offering was just all that condensed into 5 minutes – a loud and fired-up tech-metal banger to make you feel a little tipsy. By way of creating a sense of excited expectancy for the upcoming full-length, the song delivered up to specs just perfectly; judging by the teaser, their new album was going to be laced thick with the band’s signature craft – the dissonant chugs of blackened death and thrash metal and beautiful, clean melodic passages in a neatly packaged, ”the best of both worlds” type of offering. In comparison with their debut “Diagrams of Consciousness” (2020), the new endeavor is perhaps a little less progressively tinged but it makes up for the lack of quantum twists with a relentless barrage of in-your-face riffs. If the debut had been influenced by, say, early GOJIRA, this new chapter in the band’s evolution sounds a bit more straightforward and raw.
The album’s 44-minute runtime somewhat recalls the vinyl days of yore, almost as though the band has deliberately opted for a tight jab in the face instead of building things up slowly over time. This indeed makes the selection stand out remarkably consistent, making it hard to single out absolute highlights. Along with the leading single, “Transforming to Pale Mist” and “Mechanical Motions” seem to call for the repeat button the most. A disclaimer might be in order here: I don’t really listen to this type of tech death so much, so I guess it’s a tell-tale sign of a job well done if the band manages to tickle my fancy enough to put songs on repeat. While I’m a sucker for a tad more progressive approach, there is just something about the band’s songcraft that demands you to really lend some ear to the riffathons. I cannot really put my finger on what it actually is – black magic of some sort, I reckon.
Another song to single out is “Of Aeons Past.” The opening riffs traverse sonic terrain that is almost reminiscent of old OPETH. The dynamics between the harshest sections and the atmospheric, yet extremely darkly shaded plateaus is just something worth mentioning, in particular. Of course, the song soon takes twists and turns that dissolve the subtle prog-death flashbacks but I don’t even mind because the flow of the music remains nothing short of immaculate. At its harshest, the song even plunges into a dark, bottomless pit not entirely strange to black metal. So, yeah – versatility is definitely one of this band’s fortes!
The progressive plot thickens in “Slumbering in Black.” While remaining consistently in the realm of technical death metal, the song sneaks in a good few subtly proggy twists here and there. In this respect, I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys listen to RIVERS OF NIHIL and NE OBLIVISCARIS in their spare time. The spoken-word sections sound particularly evil and delicious! For a sophomore effort, this album is a damn fine selection of quality bangers, so I would guess these tech-death rogues will be going places! While I may secretly wish there was more hardcore prog on the album, I must admit these guys managed to provide me with a pleasant surprise.
Befittingly, the two most epic bangers are saved last. First, “Harbingers of Cosmic Death” is a no-questions-asked punch in the face. The song is one of the more uptempo-ish punch-ups in this selection, packed to the full with evil vibes. Epic, in this case, does not necessarily relate to things such as song length or even to the amount of atmospheric ear candy but to the instant knock-out quality of the song. It is a genuinely hard-hitting riffathon. Then, closing the album, “Endless” is a slower-crushing thing altogether. Around the 5-minute mark, things get epic in the good, old-fashioned meaning of the word and when the last notes of the coda fade into the void, you might catch yourself thinking, “Oh, bugger! Did the song end already?”
All things considered, OMNIVORTEX is responsible for presenting one of the most pleasant surprises so far this year with their new album; upon embarking on this reviewing assignment, I was not familiar with the band’s music at all. At best, the moniker ”tech death” that popped up in the press release might have slightly stirred up some prejudices that I must admit having toward this genre as a whole. Yeah, it’s stupid, I know. Once again, I learned that it is sometimes highly rewarding to check out music genres that might have had a habit of letting you down time and time again. Well, is this tech death? I’m not sure and I don’t care. Is this any good? Oh, yes, it bloody well is!
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Dwells
- Transforming to Pale Mist
- Of Aeons Past
- Slumbering in Black
- Mechanical Motions
- Husk
- Harbingers of Cosmic Death
- Endless
Lineup
Mikael Reinikka – bass
Severi Saarioja – vocals, guitars
Mikko Pylkkö – guitars
Aaro Österman – drums, vocals
Label
Inverse Records
