The Wretched End – Ominous (2010)

From the mind of Samoth (ex-Emperor, ex-Zyklon, etc) we have “Ominous”, the debut full-length release of The Wretched End. Having a band featuring Samoth and Nils Fjellström (ex-Dark Funeral), you know that the music will be intense and very well crafted. In addition to the band’s impressive line-up we have Cosmo (Mindgrinder and Scum), handling vocals and bass guitars.

Playing a very fresh blend of Death Metal with Thrash influences and the occasional Emperor-esque Black Metal hint here and there, The Wretched End brings forth a very solid debut album that immediately showcases the quality of musicians participating in the band. “Ominous” features 12 tracks of relentless music that will please all fans of almost any previous project/band of Samoth.

After a warm-up intro song, the band quickly unleashes “Red Forest Alienation”, a very powerful Death Metal piece with catchy riffs and powerful guitar structures, enough to remind you of some old Zyklon and Emperor, but different enough to keep everything fresh and dynamic enough to keep the ‘picky’ listener glued to the speakers.

Samoth’s guitar skills are as impressive as always, with tracks like “Last Judgment” and “Of Men and Wolves” featuring a wide variety of catchy riffs, meaty hooks and nice melodic passages that never get old (even after listening to this album a ridiculous amount of times). Other tracks like “The Juggernaut Theory” and “The Armageddonist” have some Black Metal elements that will have some people reminiscing the good old times of Emperor, but with enough variety that pulls you back from any flash-back and right into “Ominous” and the powerful sound of The Wretched End.

Nils Fjellström provides his signature double-kick sections that will make your eardrums rattle, and in songs like “The Armageddonist” we get the full spectrum of his abilities. His drumming skills are amazing and on The Wretched End, they very nicely round-up the band’s dynamic sound.

On vocals, Cosmo does a pretty solid job in providing strong enough vocal lines, but never crossing over the excessively ‘growly’ path that most DM vocalists shoot for. In “Ominous” you can perfectly distinguish the lyrics allowing the listeners to fully get the songs. In songs like “Zoo Human Syndrome”, Cosmo delivers a very solid range of screams that very nicely accompany the band’s rich sound and takes it one step further.

In paper, The Wretched is a very impressive band, but in reality they well surpass any of you expectations. All songs in “Ominous” are very well constructed and are greatly produced, giving the fans a very rich and powerful sound that will blow them away. We hope that this band manages to stay together for a long time and continue releasing albums of this caliber.

Release: October 26th, 2010

Country: Norway