Band:	Omnium Gatherum
Album:	Grey Heavens
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	February 19, 2016
A review by:	Dream Taster

01. The Pit
02. Skyline
03. Frontiers
04. Majesty And Silence
05. Rejuvenate!
06. Foundation
07. The Great Liberation
08. Ophidian Sunrise
09. These Grey Heavens
10. Storm Front

Finland's Omnium Gatherum is one of those bands currently dominating the metal scene with consistent high-quality efforts. Early 2016 sees their 7th album being released via Life Force Records. In a world where fans dissect every move made on a melodic death record, I have to point out that they elegantly did play it safe by retaining the services of Dan Swanö as a producer. This brings continuity to their discography while allowing them to play within the boundaries of their sound.

While not being immediately obvious, the musicians made some adjustments that set a path towards a more direct approach on Grey Heavens. While their previous two albums were all about dynamic changes, this one does take the foot off the pedal at times to better cruise through the sonic landscape. As a result, the whole record is less straightforward. So it takes a few listens to develop its full potential.

But fear not, for Omnium Gatherum has kept all the essentials that made them a success. The guitar work of Markus Vanhala is as usual admirable. His ability to come through with poignant riffs and solos has not been compromised by his work with Insomnium. The aggressively-driven guitars melodies of Joonas Kotto are perfectly enhanced by Jarmo Pikka's drumming and Jukka Pelkonen's trademark low-guttural growls.

The set of tracks might feel less cohesive when compared to New World Shadows or to Beyond. However, what Grey Heavens lacks in uniformity, it makes up on variety. Songs like "Skyline" or "Frontiers" are at times more in tune with melodic rock than today's metal, showing that the band has a wider musical comfort zone. Another track that surprised me was "Majesty and Silence". With its mid-tempo and progression, it reminded me of the classic Gothenburg sound from Sweden [In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Swanö's Edge Of Sanity].

"Grey Heavens is an album full of feeling sweeping through the whole scale of human emotions and mystery like a pendulum. It is a dark album yet shining bright with positive aura as well. The thing about this album is that while being majestic it is still fast and aggressive. This combination really is what we were looking for after the release of Beyond. Beyond was so epic we decided to make the new album be more in the "in your face" style. Still Grey Heavens is epic too in its different parts." These were the very words that singer Jukka Pelkonen used during our interview. It sums things up perfectly.