Saturday 16 June 2012

No Omega - Metropolis


Lots of you have read my previous feature and interview with No Omega and at the bottom of that post, I mentioned I was going to review their new record Metropolis. Well, here's that review.

Tracklist:-

1. Lives Worth
2. Breathe
3. Blunt Knives
4. Heavy Rain
5. Heartless And Cold
6. Rot
7. Harbringer
8. Metropolis
9. Eight Year Dream 


Metropolis begins with Lives Worth, which is filled with screeching guitar feedback and
is the first introduction to No Omega's energy filled hardcore. There's something about Swedish hardcore bands that really adds to the music. The song judders to an end with those cathartic screams. Breathe sounds epic, with the distant screams that sit in between the instruments, before coming to fore. The drumming here is awesome, just listen to the fill  about a minute in. The music really does relate to the bands theme of dystopia, with it's themes of hopelessness.

Blunt Knives is a fast, beast of a track. Again playing to the bands hardcore influences, with some nice metallic touches thrown it there. The introspective section about a minute in is a nice touch, and as the screams kick back in, you get an amazing sense of the emotion that was put into the record. No Omega don't just play at one speed. They mix fast paced hardcore with metal influences and show good awareness in the variation of their sound. Heavy Rain shows a punkier side to the band, with the bouncing drumming that rips through the song.

The production here gives Metropolis a good modern sound. The guitars and bass do sit a bit deeper in the mix, but shine when the vocals quieten. When No Omega are in full chat, it's the vocals and the drums that you can here more prominently. No songs here are to long either, with No Omega proving their point with short, sharp blast of energetic emotion and full on hardcore. When Heartless And Cold flies at you, you just want to go absolutely nuts! It's another full-force song. Rot is a quick fire blast of grind inspired core, which is over a quickly as it started, yet has plenty of musical layers in to make it feel much longer  than it's one minute and fifteen second length.

The final third of Metropolis starts with Harbringer which has a huge impact, with the help of a pretty hefty low end and some low growls making themselves heard during the song. The title song blasts along at the same pace, not letting you have one brief moment of rest. It contains some great melodic guitar, which gives the music a great atmosphere and one of euphoria, especially amongst such an emotional and tough journey as the record has been to this point.

Final song, Eight Year Dream is the longest song on Metropolis, at just over five minutes. This is the final blast of emotion from No Omega. It's immediately a more mid-paced song. The guitars and drums sound heavier and the vocals are roared out as if they're the last words they will ever sing! There are subtle parts in this song, inspired by fellow countrymen Cult Of Luna, which add to the despair felt within the record. This song is probably one of the best on Metropolis. It's dark, desolate and uses up every spare ounce of emotion from within the band to create something really heartfelt and strangely life-affirming.

Overall, Metropolis is a journey from the despairing knowledge of a world ending, to the euphoria that comes when it's all over. No Omega have crafted a modern hardcore record that touches the post-hardcore roots that Sweden is known for, as well showing the originality of the band as a collective whole. This should catapult No Omega even more into the consciousness of the wider metal/hardcore community, and god knows they deserve it!


You can stream Metropolis on No Omega's bandcamp page below:-


You can either buy a digital copy or CD copy direct from the bandcamp page as well.

 Metropolis is also available to buy in various formats from the following labels:

Thirty Days Of Night - http://thirtydaysofnightrecords.bigcartel.com/category/music (125 copies on Black vinyl)

Monument Records - https://www.monumenthq.se/shop/ (CD and Solid Grey vinyl limited to 175 copies)

Get This Right Records - http://getthisrightrecords.stereokiller.com/ (175 copies on Transparent Blue vinyl)

No Omega can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/noomega

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