OHHMS - Cold

Tracklist:-

1 The Anchor

2. Dawn Of The Swarm

We may be creeping up on the end of 2016 but I still have a load of music to catch up on from 2015! One such record is the latest two-track release from Kent doom/post band OHHMS. I picked this and their last release "Bloom" up on vinyl at the Ritual Fest all-dayer on Saturday just gone and it reminded me that I had it write about. "Cold" was released in June 2015 via Holy Roar Records and is only the band's second official release, since their inception a year earlier. I guess if it's good enough for Holy Roar then it must be good enough for me!

Even before I press play on this, I’ve just got to say that the packaging is great. The songs are pressed onto a slab of wax that’s a gorgeous hue of transparent blue/green. I’m also a bit of a sucker for atmospheric post-metal and need to find a band to fill the void left after Voe’s departure form this mortal realm. All the signs point to Ohhms being that band. Opener The Anchor is melodic and bleak in the same way that Cult Of Luna is (or was, I’m not too sure). However; far from being caustic they use vocal melodies beautifully. This song is mammoth yet also really endearing. The riffs are thick and best served during a live-gig but on record they fill any room. Ohhms is definitely more palatable to those who haven’t yet scratched the doom/drone/post-metal surface in the UK, but if this weekend was anything to go by also appeal to hardened fans of the genre(s). Dawn Of The Swarm is dreamier as it’s opening bars whisk you off to calmer climes, though if you weren’t expecting the riffs that swiftly follow then shame on you!  In spite of the heaviness I mentioned in the last sentence, it’s also remarkably catchy. Ohhms manages to create a song with a completely different feel to that of The Anchor yet Dawn Of The Swarm sits perfectly alongside it. Two songs spanning over 30-minutes and both with obvious differences but a common denominator; they’re both achingly good.

Stream it and buy it digitally or on CD below:-

There's a 2nd pressing of the LP available on Organic Ale coloured wax via the Holy Roar store here - http://www.holyroarrecords.com/products/

Ohhms Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OHHMStheband
Holy Roar Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/holyroarrecords