Maybe it’s because I have been significantly underwhelmed with most things lately and have been abstaining from liquid enthusiasm, and dealing with a crippling addiction to gummy vitamins that I’ve been out of the loop, under a rock and adjacent to a third object with regards to listening to new music. Maybe. I have however been sent the new album by OMNIVIDE which promises a great deal. The band cites influences such as OPETH, DEVIN TOWNSEND and more so I went into this expecting big, if not great things.
Excitingly the album opens with Clarity. There’s a lengthy, dreamy introduction that isn’t dissimilar to the works of Danny Elfman and composing duo Bob & Barn. This darkly whimsical theme comes into play at various points as punctuation the more standard proggy-death-symphonic fayre.
For those familiar with OPETH’s work, especially the albums from the late 90’s and early 2000’s this should feel familiar to you and maybe you will feel, as I do, that this is familiar enough but uncomfortable. The second track Opulence makes it a little more comfortable to appreciate their influence here and really makes me wonder if this was one of the first tracks written for the album. Stripped back is perhaps the wrong word but it is less heavy on the symphonic instrumentation and instead becomes more rhythmic, incorporating plenty of syncopated beats with alternating clean vocals and growls. I suspect there’s probably quite heavy use of the lydian mode in there too.
Devin Townsend’s influence can be heard on the track Cosmic Convergence which feels like a kind of bait and switch. The arpeggios that it starts with develop interest and an expectation of a more cheerful tone before it smashes into faster, more aggressive picking. I really like this. I think there’s a common problem in modern songwriting with the expectation of emotional consistency. It is not something I’d want to see deviated from too often but in this case it fits and is a welcome change. The introduction is brought back in again and develops in its new context as a flurry of notes and less as a magical wishing well.
To be perfectly frank, reader. I don’t know if I like this album. For its technical merit it’s clearly well done, and there are elements that I do like but I think that there are perhaps too many for a singular album. It feels a little like the musical equivalent of cottage pie and custard and to be honest I don’t think it’s that. I think that whilst the band have succeeded in putting together a complex and technically proficient body of work I am likely not the target audience.
But…that said… I do think everyone should give track number seven a go. Death Be Not Proud, is just a cool song that recontextualizes the songs before it like the ENIGMA machine cracking a code. Its OPETH influence can be seen quite obviously but OMNIVIDE really make it their own by adding a lot of technically impressive playing.
Rating: 6/10
Words: Jacob McCrone
A Tale Of Fire is out now.
Find OMNIVIDE on Facebook.
