Omnium Gatherum - Spirits And August Light - guest review
Omnium Gatherum - Spirits And August Light - guest review
Band
Omnium Gatherum Album
Spirits And August Light Style
Melodic death metal Release date
February 24, 2003 Tracklist
01. Writhen02. Deathwhite
03. The Perfumed Garden
04. Amor Tonight
05. Cure A Wound
06. The Emptiness Of Spirit
07. Wastrel
08. Son's Thoughts
09. It Shines
Guest review by
Milena October 10, 2011
When checking out a band's back catalogue from the bottom up, there's always fear that the older albums will be inexperienced or lacking direction. Fear not, Omnium Gatherum had all their basses covered with Spirits and August Light. This is not entirely similar to the sounds we hear on New World Shadows or The Redshift. We've got a different man handling the vocals, although Jukka Pelkonen's lovely growls (a paradox, isn't it?) can be heard on two of the songs. Antti Filppu's vocal style, although somewhat annoying at first but after getting used to it, fits the album quite well. Also, this is more disjointed and confusing than their more famous release. The riff-based music includes many intricate guitar licks and solos striving to get your attention. You will also be exposed to sudden changes of atmosphere, so bring your umbrellas for the mind. This is a more speedy and even teen-angsty version of Omnium Gatherum.
Mentioning the similarities this is still melodic death metal loosely based on the early works of the Gothenburg greats, appropriately modern and flirting with mainstream appeal. Taking the flirting metaphor literally though, one could conclude the mainstream finds this particular genre to be quite an ugly broad and prefers it with lots of make-up. The quality of the songwriting is pretty much the same, as I do find New World Shadows to be just a tad overrated. Both are slick, moderately technical, well-performed and elegant - it takes more than that to be monumental though.
Lyrics are a very important aspect of this band. Seems that every album of theirs has lyrical perks of its own, both in writing and in printing - this one has sentences divided by dashes, dividing words to make an interesting effect ("dis ease", anyone?), made up words, wonderfully emotional and silly lyrics, sometimes deep and at other moments simply plain. There's an obvious effort (or a whimsical lack of one) put into them, as well as the whole album, a release that will amuse you.
Something curious for the conclusion - "Wastrel" and "Son's Thoughts" have very different but equally awesome early versions of them in the band's first EP which deserve to be checked out. Along with those tracks, my personal favourite is "The Perfumed Garden".
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Milena | October 10, 2011
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
8
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116 users
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Posts: 1122
I heard them play "Son's Thoughts" live last summer and liked it. Haven't had time to check this one out yet after getting introduced to them by NWS... such a year for music this one 
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 Posts: 4603 |
Posts: 4603 Written by Risto on 10.10.2011 at 18:56 It's an anthem in its own right, a very cool, rebellious tune 
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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 Posts: 5068 |
Posts: 5068
I haven't listened to Omnium Gatherum yet and i don't know when will this happen, but i liked the review and the first paragraph and the first sentence of the second one, they make an outdated album review (8 years old - and not to be misinterpreted, i don't have a prob with reviews of older albums) up to date in an intriguing way. And had it been a re-release it would fit perfectly, without implying that it lowers its strength at the moment because it ain't a re-release. 
---- Dec. 30, 1334. ...And the whiskey and wine entered our veins when blood was too weak to carry on.
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| Posts: 4603 |
Posts: 4603 Written by KwonVerge on 11.10.2011 at 01:43 At the moment, I kinda try to review the albums I like which don't have any reviews yet thank you for your words.
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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 Posts: 21306 |
Posts: 21306 Written by Milena on 11.10.2011 at 08:30 That's what I started doing and eventually I got offered to write officially for the site (something I haven't contributed with recently, but that's not the point).
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Posts: 4603 |
Posts: 4603 Written by Troy Killjoy on 11.10.2011 at 08:57 ''Eventually', if it happens for me, will probably take several years as I don't write well enough yet and haven't listened to nearly enough music to be critical of most of the stuff being staff-reviewed around here
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Posts: 4603 |
Posts: 4603 Written by Milena on 11.10.2011 at 09:09 Lol, look at this post right here
---- 7.0 means the album is good
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| Posts: 21306 |
Posts: 21306
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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