Omnium Gatherum – Beyond (2013)

When one thinks that a band can’t get any better, we got completely surprised by how Omnium Gatherum managed to improve over their previous epic release “New World Shadows”. In “Beyond”, the band takes their highly refined Melodic Death Metal sound and brings it up another notch to near perfection in the 10 tracks presented in this majestic release.

Slowly building up with the intro track, “The New Dynamic” explodes with the band’s signature intense riffs and powerful growls. As the track progresses, the epic lead guitar work enhances the mood and the acrobatic solos immediately start. The clean vocals greatly add to the overall awesomeness of the song when paired with the precise bass guitar line. This is nicely continued by the super catchiness of “In The Rim” and its killer vocal arrangements during the songs more melodic sections.

The eight-minute “Nightwalkers” takes a more serious tone with heavier riffing that borders in the Black Metal range. The whole stop-and-go approach of this song is very refreshing and creates some epic headbanging moments. “Formidable” is one of our favorite tracks in the release thanks to its intricate atmospheric elements that make this track feel very epic. “The Sonic Sign” reminded us of the band’s debut album “Spirits and August Light”, but greatly enhanced by the superb production values of this album handled by Dan Swanö.

“Who Could Say” changes the flow of the album again with a very mellow sound that features more clean vocals and a very relaxing mood. The guitar wizardry returns with some epic riffs and solos on our favorite track of this release titled “The Unknowing”. In this song the band crafts one of the best Melodic Death Metal tracks that we have ever heard with epic melodic passages and deep growls nicely adorned by solemn keyboards.

Just when you think the album couldn’t get any better, “Living in Me” and “White Palace” unleash more catchy riffs and very interesting tempo changes. In particular, “White Palace” is a slower piece that has a very high Insomnium resemblance but with the Omnium Gatherum signature style.

Overall, “Beyond” is one of those releases that are destined for greatness. The band has been refining their skills in the last few years and with this release they are at the top of their game.  We can only hope to get to see this band playing live in North America one of these days and promoting their high-quality Melodic Death Metal. If you are a fan of the genre, be sure to pre-order this gem before it is too late.

Release: February 23rd, 2013 (USA)

Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Country: Finland