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Once again I found myself listening to an album several times before eventually deciding to write the review. This often happens when I'm unexpectedly facing a highly original album which I can 't catagorise immediately. At times I'm even stunned that this album is released by a metal-label but then again I wonder what other label would release something like this. This isn't pop music, this isn't even rock music in the strict meaning of the word. It is a brilliant album nonetheless, a very emotional and experimental trip that takes the listener to places unseen and sounds unheard.
Omrade is a duo, plus several guest musicians on vocals, saxophone and trumpet. Along with an impressive amount of keyboards and soundscapes, these are not the standard instruments for a modern day metal band but again, this isnt really a metal band. However, they breathe a dark atmosphere and often use depressive black metal vocals. So as far as metal is concerned, this fits perfectly between 'A Deeper Kind Of Slumber' by Tiamat or 'Childhood's End' by Ulver.
What Omrade does is fantastic. They blend the atmosphere of dark metal with the electronics rhythms of trip-hop, the cinematic approach of post rock and the old school feel of industrial and EBM. Then they turn all these influences into very strong songs. Some of them fit perfectly on a dark dancefloor while others are solid rockers. It's almost as if Tiamat made a pact with The Prodigy.
The album opens with a nice piece of dark soundscapes and percussion, named 'Mótsögn'. By using the saxophone and trumpets, they even incorporate a dark jazz element. This opener is pretty slow and functions mainly as an intro. 'Mann Forelder' begins like an opening tune for an atmospheric black metal concert and then suddenly comes up with breakbeats and drum & bass percussion. At this time I'm actually scratching my head in complete amazement.
'Satellite And Narrow' sounds like a dancefloor remix of a gothic metal track (with female vocals) and it works. I actually trapped myself dancing to this song. 'Åben Dør' is a strange avant-garde song, arguably the oddest thing on this album combining soundscapes, piano, far away, spooky voices and a Sisters Of Mercy like drum machine.
While most of the eight songs on Edari are quite uptempo, there are also some ballads. However, 'Skam Parfyme' is no ordinary rock ballad. No, good sir, this is a depressive dark metal song in a trip-hop outfit, complete with distorted guitars, growls and screams. Closer 'Ottaa Sen' begins as something Pink FLoyd could have written but then turns into an amazing Die Krupps-like piece of industrial metal.
The level of variation is very high on this album, as well as the songwriting abilities of this duo. I admit I had to listen a few times before I actually started to see how ingenius this debut really is. Combining all these different elements and influences couldn't have been an easy task but somehow Omrade succeeded in creating something unique, convicing and versatile. This album deviates from every genre I mentioned in this review and still is a brilliant album.
Serge
Omrade is a duo, plus several guest musicians on vocals, saxophone and trumpet. Along with an impressive amount of keyboards and soundscapes, these are not the standard instruments for a modern day metal band but again, this isnt really a metal band. However, they breathe a dark atmosphere and often use depressive black metal vocals. So as far as metal is concerned, this fits perfectly between 'A Deeper Kind Of Slumber' by Tiamat or 'Childhood's End' by Ulver.
What Omrade does is fantastic. They blend the atmosphere of dark metal with the electronics rhythms of trip-hop, the cinematic approach of post rock and the old school feel of industrial and EBM. Then they turn all these influences into very strong songs. Some of them fit perfectly on a dark dancefloor while others are solid rockers. It's almost as if Tiamat made a pact with The Prodigy.
The album opens with a nice piece of dark soundscapes and percussion, named 'Mótsögn'. By using the saxophone and trumpets, they even incorporate a dark jazz element. This opener is pretty slow and functions mainly as an intro. 'Mann Forelder' begins like an opening tune for an atmospheric black metal concert and then suddenly comes up with breakbeats and drum & bass percussion. At this time I'm actually scratching my head in complete amazement.
'Satellite And Narrow' sounds like a dancefloor remix of a gothic metal track (with female vocals) and it works. I actually trapped myself dancing to this song. 'Åben Dør' is a strange avant-garde song, arguably the oddest thing on this album combining soundscapes, piano, far away, spooky voices and a Sisters Of Mercy like drum machine.
While most of the eight songs on Edari are quite uptempo, there are also some ballads. However, 'Skam Parfyme' is no ordinary rock ballad. No, good sir, this is a depressive dark metal song in a trip-hop outfit, complete with distorted guitars, growls and screams. Closer 'Ottaa Sen' begins as something Pink FLoyd could have written but then turns into an amazing Die Krupps-like piece of industrial metal.
The level of variation is very high on this album, as well as the songwriting abilities of this duo. I admit I had to listen a few times before I actually started to see how ingenius this debut really is. Combining all these different elements and influences couldn't have been an easy task but somehow Omrade succeeded in creating something unique, convicing and versatile. This album deviates from every genre I mentioned in this review and still is a brilliant album.
Serge