Album Review: Bad Omens – Bad Omens

Creation, growth and the inevitable end – the basic premise to nearly everything and the cycle it goes through. Music works in much the same way; a band or artist starts a project with ideologies, they grow in not only sound, but ideas, ability and as people and then, when a currently unknown time comes, it ends. The unique aspect to this concept in music is that unlike others, those same projects don’t always necessarily start off on the same field. Some are formed with no experience at all while others could be full of artists who know the inner workings of the industry and what it takes. That leads us to one of the newest faces in the metal scene that has created an unbelievable amount of buzz with their sound, style and how well they’ve managed everything – Bad Omens. With the full force of one of the stronger labels (Sumerian) behind them, this is a band that has created an unreal amount of hysteria surrounding their debut self-titled album, but will we be talking about it for years to come?

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Genre: Metalcore
Label: Sumerian Records
Release: August 19, 2016
Connect: Facebook | Twitter
Purchase: iTunes | Google Play | Physical
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There are certain expectations surrounding what this album will present to listeners, and before people delve into the record, they should throw those expectations out the window. The similarities to Bring Me The Horizon so commonly found in YouTube comments do persist in the atmospheric ambience and nuances of chanting gang vocals found throughout the record, but it really ends there.  In reality, the singles are just a slight representation of the craftsmanship and songwriting that makes up the whole of Bad Omens sound. Throughout the entirety of the record, there’s a variety of elements from multiple genres as found in the pop sensibilities that exist in the song structure and harmonies, the metalcore crunch in instrumentation and industrial aspects through electronic and programming usage. To put it bluntly, Bad Omens isn’t exactly the record most people are probably expecting, and that’s a damn good thing.

BAD OMENS – The Worst In Me (Official Music Video)

Debut album ‘Bad Omens’ // OUT NOW iTunes: http://smarturl.it/BadOmens-iTunes Amazon: http://smarturl.it/BadOmens-AmazonMP3 GooglePlay: http://smarturl.it/BadOmens-GooglePlay Merch: https://www.sumerianmerch.com/collections/badomens — Music video directed by Orie McGinness at Enlighten Creative Studio www.enlightencreativestudio.com —————————————————————– THE WORST IN ME: LYRICS Is there nothing left to keep myself awake?

The record leads off with three previously released singles, “Glass Houses”, “Exit Wounds” and “The Worst in Me”. As mentioned earlier, variety is king on Bad Omens so what people hear on these tracks is only expanded upon further as the record continues on. “Feral” is an industrialized track in the vein of something Nine Inch Nails would put out with electronics setting the tone vocally and instrumentally all while changing up the expected pace of the record. “Enough, Enough Now” utilizes a cackling sound effect with a piano playing over it while a raw vocal style is utilized to deliver a haunting message lyrically. “Malice” sees the band take it up another notch as it hits hard, fast and heavy living up to the track name and it doesn’t slow down as it transitions into the next tracks, “Hedonist” and “Broken Youth”. “Crawl” sees Bad Omens showcase the softer, melancholic side of themselves as they slow it down for a somber piano number with a massive atmospheric sound that builds throughout while “The Letdown” continues the style with a fuller band sound. As the album comes near a close, “Reprise (The Sound of the End)” harkens its influences from “Shadow Moses” with chants throughout the chorus as it fades into “The Fountain”, the second of two atmospheric showcases wrapping up the record in complete fashion.

To put this all into context, expectations need to be left at the door as Bad Omens is a musical journey. From beginning to end, listeners are taken on a ride as we explore the depths of a person’s mind and inner thoughts in a way only music allows one to express themselves. There’s an undeniable level of aggression, emotion and hopelessness to be found and utilized with reckless abandon, but done so in a style that will leave listeners craving for more the second it’s over. With massive choruses, an arena riddled sound that is full of life, variety and rawness and the innate ability to take influence from mainstay bands while retaining a sound wholly their own, Bad Omens have burst on to the scene with an atypical debut record, shattering not only expectations, but delivering a record that others will be held in regard to.