IN THE WOODS...

Third album of this intristing band from Norway and final one aswell before disbanding in early this decade. The album released in summer of 1999 named Strange in stereo is a real strange album belive me, not every day I have the chance to listen to such quirky but in same time very well produce and well played album from this field. Surprise is , I don't realy think this is better then previous work who was an oustanding release, This time In the woods turn even more to ghotic sound, the metal elements are aswell here but in less quantity. Even the voice is a little bit less intristing then on Omnio, but good. The musicianship is ok, but the band now run out of great ideas, they try to bring it to the same level of Omnio, but thet don't quite succeded on every piece. From all 11 piece only half are for real intrest, the other half are between good and in places even some mediocre arrangements. So I will not go with the crowd by saying this is a masterpiece or close, is a good album but nothing more. I prefer 100 times more Omnio. Anyway this Strange in stereo is another worthy album by this norvegian band but less captivating than before. 3 stars , nothing more, nothing less, still intristing in places..

4.5 realy

In the woods is a norwegian progressive metal band who explore a wider palatte of genres, from ghotic to experimental/post metal to progressive metal. They released 3 albums in the'90's and then disbanded somewhere around 2001. This is their second album from 1997 named Omnio. I was shocked, in positive way when I heard this album for the first time, I guess 5-6 years ago. Now, after many listnings , and many years flow by, same reaction when I hear this masterpice of modern metal. The music here is kinda hard to describe, some progressive mmetal tendencies combined with gothix textures, intricate passages and melacholic arrangements in places. The pieces are long, minus 2 of them, well developed in manner of composing, excellent musicianship, strong ideas, where sorrow meets tragedy. The dark passages are very well interluded with the moody atmosphere of the album with a lot of drama in vocal department, from male to femal vocal arrangements In the woods realy shine here on every piece. Imagine this band is similar with for ex Green Carnation or Orphaned Land but they have their own twist and originaluty. Featuring members who will joyn later bands like Emperor or Katatonia, two well known acts from scandinavian extreme metal scene. Every piece realy shines, like the opening track 299 796 km/s, who is the speed of light, this is amazing combinations of metal - ghotic and post metal, axcellent musicianship, the rest are also very strong. I will give 4-4.5 for this excellent album full of great and inovative pieces, one of the best from the '90's for sure and in general in progressive metal. Recommended for sure, and their best work from all 3 albums released by them.

A sea of deafening blackness

The entire Post/Experimental Metal genre is often very hit and miss, finding a great album amongst the crowds can sometimes be difficult. Luckily, there's still times when something will jump out and drag you under with its intense moods and almost evil music. In The Woods' second album, Omnio does just that. If you're not familiar with the music itself, In The Woods is a terribly dark band that plays some very heavy stuff. The tone is low, and so is the speed of the album - that is - until it reaches its speed and death metal sections. Truly, this is a very eclectic album in terms of styles, and yet they all mix together so well that the album really comes into a style of its own. It would be very difficult to compare this band with any other, but if forced to pick one might say they sound like an evil version of Riverside with some Tool-esque qualities and some decidedly Pink Floyd moments.

The album is full of twists and turns, and this is what keeps it alive and interesting. Most of the songs on the album deal with enormous speed changes, moving from 0 to 1000 miles an hour in a split second and then back again. The slow parts usually deal with simplistic and emotional string sections while the heavy parts often employ an impressive double kick section and some blistering guitars. A pure example of this is the album's most celebrated song, the opener - 299 796 Km/S - which sets the tone for the album well by making use of these dramatic switches along with some operatic female vocals that really help to take things up a notch. The string sections are always oh-so sad sounding, and in contrast with the incredibly heavy, fast moving sections they make for a very awakening song. This is used again and again throughout the album, always in a new and refreshing way so that things never get too samey and yet still stick to an established theme. I Am Your Flesh is the first to show off the impressive death metal scream that's used a few more times over the course of the album which leads into another pounding, quick session with racing drums and guitars.

A lot of the album can be easily described as ''creepy,'' making for an unsettling, but amazing listen. Kairos! is a good demonstration of this with its mono-guitar opening reverberating into the listener's head. Vocals on this track are strictly female and its slow riffs make for an impressive build. Weeping Willow combines the styles of all the tracks before it to make for a very chilling tune with some more blistering moments. Chugging guitar riffs make for an impressive and memorable 12-minutes.

Of course a lot of people are likely wondering about the title track. This could likely be considered the band's own Karn Evil 9, not in style of course, more in structure and length. The 26-minute long epic that dominates the latter half of the album is split into three parts and each one is highly impressive. Omnio? - Pre is the longest of the bunch and features everything the band did well to this point. An ambient opening gives way to more heavy riffs, the female vocals are back with a vengeance and they've become more operatic as they do. Omnio? - Bardo is a spacey and ambient instrumental reminiscent of a metal version of Pink Floyd, the haunting track makes a triumphant build until it explodes with another well placed death metal scream into the final part of the song. Omnio? - Post reprises Pre with some of the themes stated there such as lyrical content and some of the instrumental melodies as well as introducing a very nice harmonized male vocal section which really chills the spine. Eventually it all comes to a cataclysmic finish and resonates to a stop.

This is a highly impressive album which gets high recommendations to anyone who's looking for something a little bit heavier and a little bit (or a lot) darker. Definitely not feel-good music, this is something for a rainy, stormy day. 4 Weeping Willows out of 5 - an excellent album.

Dark,heavy,atmospheric and emotional are all words that describe the music of IN THE WOODS... very well. I actually purchased this double live recording because it was the very last concert the band would play together.As a big fan, this recording is very special and significant to me.The lead singer Mista Transit is in fine form.I really like some of the things he says between songs.Synne the female vocalist adds so much as usual to these songs.Those high pitched vocals that at times seem so tortured are perfect for this music.The Botteri brothers(bass,lead guitar) make an appearance on this recording playing on the whole second disc(second half of the concert).Here are some of the highlights for me. "Heart Of Ages" from their first album of the same name is fantastic! Especially Synne who offers up some incredible vocal melodies.Dual vocals as heavy guitar comes in at 3 1/2 minutes. "Beer" is funny because he opens by saying "We have a new song that doesn't have a name, so for this occasion we'll call it beer." Love the grinding guitars in this one. They then cover "White Rabbit" by JEFFERSON AIRPLANE.Transit sings the lyrics but Synne is all over this too with vocals and vocal melodies. "Mourning The Death Of Aase" might be the best track on here.Great beat to open as guitar comes in.It settles right down as Synne comes in with reserved vocals.A minute later she offers up these high pitched vocal melodies that are absolutely amazing,this has to be heard to be understood.Aggressive guitar takes over as she stops singing. "299.796 KM/S" is so powerful and heavy.Drums and dual vocals before 1 1/2 minutes.The tempo picks up.This is intense as the tempo continues to change. "I Am Your Flesh" is heavy and aggressive right off the bat.Killer sound.As soon as he sings "I am your flesh" it settles right down a minute in.It kicks back in as Synne joins in vocally.Love the sound before 4 minutes.Check out the bass. "Weeping Willow" is another thunderous track especially after 4 minutes.The mood and tempo does change throughout. At the start of "Omnio(Pre)" Transit says "This one is for my mother,i think." Then at the end of "Omnio(Bardo+Post)" he points out his mom in the audience and says "I am so proud of her, you wouldn't know anything about it." "Empty Room" has some great atmosphere to it as well as some ripping guitar and riffs.Check out the emotional singing of Transit before 4 1/2 minutes.Awesome tune. "Don't Care" is a headbangers delight.Straight up metal on the chorus with him screaming "I don't care anymore,get out of my life!" "Path Of The Righteous" from "Strange In Stereo" is so uplifting after 5 1/2 minutes. "Titan Transcendence" features some powerful and emotional singing from Transit before Synne comes in after 3 1/2 minutes like a light in the darkness. They then cover "Epitaph" by KING CRIMSON.This version isn't as pleasant(haha) but very powerful and dark.It's so beautiful when Synne starts to sing the lyrics.Transit joins her on the chorus.He then takes over the vocal duties after 2 1/2 minutes and blows me away.Dual vocals after 5 minutes.Synne ends it with a big finish in this 8 minute cover.Unbelieveable! "Closing In" is from "Strange In Stereo" and is the perfect track to end it.They can't possibly sound any better then they do on this last song.Emotional vocals after 3 minutes.What a performance! A must for IN THE WOODS... fans and fans of dark and powerful music.I had a young customer come in the store as this was playing last week and he asked me to write down the name of this band and their best recordings.He said it reminded him of TOOL.

Heart of the Ages is the debut album from Norwegian band In the Woods. In the Woods have strong ties to the Norwegian black metal scene but their music is much more experimental than many of the more traditional black metal bands.

The metal riffing has influences from melodic black/ death metal bands like Unanimated and Dissection. There are some definite post metal influences here too though. The slow doomy riffing that is a trademark in that genre is also present here. Layers of synth is also a big part of Heart of the Ages. The music is actually pretty melodic. All songs are good but ...In the Woods is my Favorite here. The singing is both clean and raspy. The rasps are black metal style while the clean singing isn´t traditionally beautiful all the time but it´s got that definite nordic feel to it. Sometimes the singing is in the strange/ psychadelic vein of Ved Buens Ende which In the Woods bears some resemblance too.

The music isn´t very technical but it´s played with conviction. The only thing I will complain about is the drums. They seem untight to me and Anders Kobro´s style is not very sophisticated IMO. The pace is slow to mid tempo and it´s especially in the mid tempo sections there are problems with the drum style. They play bumbti bumbti which isn´t to my liking. I think it sounds like German heavy metal from the eighties. This is a clear flaw in my book.

The production is a very thin sounding black metal production and a better sound quality could have done thesse songs more justice IMO. My overall impression of Heart of the Ages is pretty good. I´m intrigued and want to hear more from them, but with a couple of flaws this album ends on 3 stars.

Anekdoten from Hell?

To think, the first time I listened to "Strange in Stereo" it almost got the rare honor of being flung out the car window, an honor bestowed on only 2 other albums in my life as far as I can remember (those two shall remain nameless.) I really thought little of this at first play which is ironic because now I not only prefer it to Omnio, but I have to say it is one of my favorite progressive-metal titles. This is no predictable hour of shredding and blast drumming like you often will hear, this is a true convergence of progressive music with metal. Much stranger and probably less accessible than Omnio, SiS is a cauldron of bubbling darkness with a dense and unique sound, with mood and presence. I have to quote our own Trickster F. (Ivan) for his fabulous description of this album: "If Omnio was a journey of midday, through the adventures and issues it provides, and the search for a person's inner world, his meaning in life and a personal everything, Strange In Stereo is a trip in the middle of the night, bleak, dark, yet just as adventurous. Not an accessible effort in any imaginable way, it will take many listens to truly sink in." [Ivan] That's the best short summary I've seen of "Strange in Stereo." If you've not heard In The Woods before I would say the music occasionally approaches a heavier Anekdoten crossed with Green Carnation, just to give you a rough idea. This is gonna be a tough one to describe, but I owe this album as much.

"Closing In" opens the show with outstanding programming before the guitar/drums kick in with claustrophobic effects. The sustain on the guitar makes you feel like you're drowning. This album is all about mood and ambiance and there are tons of these minor little sound details all over the place that help build the dark drapery. The certain squall of the guitar fade, vocal intonations, chords that go this way when you expect that way, sound effects, the unique sound OF the instruments. "Cell" begins with the most delicious acoustic strumming and strange far-away viola playing. Then the female vocals come in. The male and female vocal patterns are used again here as on Omnio to great effect. They both possess sort of an off-goth snarl and waver like Siouxsie, and while at times it seems they go out of tune I have realized just how perfect the technique is, off-putting, strange yet beautiful. From the eerie relative softness of "Cell" it moves much heavier on "Vanish" with louder guitar and combined vocals. Some double bass thumping near the end remind this is a prog-metal album, at times it sounds like a heavier, more intense Anekdoten. "Basement Corridors" starts with creepy sound effects with just haunting female vocal, no band. She gets a bit operatic which is really nice. The bass and viola begin backing her ghostly vocal to perfect ends. "Ion" is a low, lumbering beast of a song, slithering through the grass with bubbly bass and very heavy guitar and drums. The guitar solo and male vocals are tortured in this track, very effectively expressing darkness. "Generally more worried than married" features some of the best guitar work on the album, varied and expressive, alternately melodic and chuggy. "Path of the Righteous" features relentless guitar sections that alternate with spacey breaks where a sitar of all things is used for a different feel. "Dead Man's Creek" employs the effects-pedal big time for the background guitar and the track features a guest doing some slide guitar. There's a sweet circular but skewed main riff in this song that makes me smile every time. A break in the middle leaves a clearing for some Djam Karet style space weirdness. The female vocal and guitar work coming after this break are just plain sexy as hell. "Titan Transcendence" starts with echoed, phased clean guitars conversing quietly to background drumming, very cool. Slowly vocals wails are heard in the background. "Shelter" is an intro to the closer "By the Banks of Pandemonium." Building to a climactic fury with great guitar throughout, it breaks to a subdued farewell with about 90 seconds of sadly picked acoustic guitar.

Strange in Stereo is one hell of an original album. An anonymous web reviewer at a large retail site wrote some phrases that sum up what bizarre music this is: "Passion mingled in sweat.a voracious album.a complete transformation both in themes and in musical direction. In Omnio psychedelic stylings were used as a metaphor for the forces of nature- both mental and worldly-here they are in the service of a backward purpose.no longer do they exalt fertility or benign nature but are now deeply immersed in world of sin and inversion.the primal man of large and robust instincts is now defeated.enter the modern man."

This album is a good example of what prog metal can achieve when it breaks down some of the predictable barriers of overused growls, shredding, and blast-drumming. I'm not saying those elements are bad, but rather that their overuse by some groups gets tiring, necessitating a mind-blow like this. As far as I'm concerned it puts to shame some of its competition. Not an easy album to embrace initially its beauty is revealed after several plays and acceptance of its inherent oddity. A must for fans of psych-metal without melodic sing-along intentions. It wisely doesn't attempt to better Omnio, but rather elevates both albums by complimenting it. Bravo to ITW.

Dreary depressing modern metal.

Omnio is a very drawn out and sombre album in much the same way a lot of OPETH's music is, it's one of those things that as a metal fan you either love or hate, unfortunately as much as I hate to say it I fall into the latter category. Omnio starts out with '299 796 km/s' (better known as the speed of light) which starts off with some melancholy violin before the band comes in and the slow paced metal journey begins, there are a few black metal moments, some operatic moments, a lot of depressing moments and it's just above mediocre for the most part, it really fails to hold my attention for it's 15 minute span, the next 3 songs are more of the same, contemplative and sad with not a lot going on.

Where the album does get interesting though is in the Omnio suite consisting of 3 songs finishing off the album, they are a lot more progressive and interesting than the early tracks. 'Omnio Bardo' is the highlight of the album, it's a great little ambient track with good use of dynamics and it has a real spacey feel it, the album then ends strongly on 'post' with the first real double kick on the album and some more black metally riffs.

Omnio is a decent album but only for those who enjoy this type of music for the most part it is lacking substance and is caught in it's black hole of depression, I'd only recommend this to fans of modern accessible metal, OPETH and GREEN CARNATION fans will certainly enjoy.

Is it really possible to review an album like this? I could go track by track, but it would be foolish to review this album that way because it is closer to one big song than a collection of songs. You lose so much by listening to each song of this very cohesive album individually. This is essentially the modern Dark Side of the Moon, and that's coming from one of the biggest Pink Floyd fans ever. This is music in it's purest, most artistic form, there's no songs that would make great singles, no choruses that you are expected to sing along to, and nothing that would lead the listener to believe there is any pretense behind any of the compositions. It is truly "Strange in Stereo", strange as in original. It's like nothing you've probably ever heard before, and that's what makes it so progressive. Not by standards set by earlier bands but by their own standard.

Each chapter in the short story still manages to create it's own mood, is it's own ambience. Some passages are more psychedelic, some more dramatic, some more reflective, and some even minimalistic. There's even some folk influenced passages. All of this is built upon a metal foundation. When I say metal though, there are no heavy, repeated riffs or shredding solos as most would expect from a metal band. Don't worry though, each instrument knows it's place and do a flawless job in adding to the overall ambience of the album. Apart from the obvious guitar, bass, and drums, there's some melancholic strings and piano, male vocals which tell most of the story, female vocals which are used primarily to add to the mood, and even some electronics to go on top of the already great atmospheres. Since this is not an album of details, but rather one which can only be looked at as a whole, there's not much else to say, except if you haven't heard it yet, you will NOT be disappointed. Put Strange in Stereo in your stereo, turn off the lights, and give this album your fullest attention.

If you want to try In the Woods..., you may want to start with Omnio first, but this one is a masterpiece of equal caliber. Truly a masterpiece and truly progressive.

"as I turned my fragile skin-I reached Omnio."

"Omnio" is a dark, melodic album with a crushing wall of guitar sound guaranteed to please fans of metal and guitar-based prog rock. The mood is mostly dark, spacey, and quite hypnotic.

The 15 minute opener starts with lovely yet tense strings that lead into the first of many monster chordal assaults, some slow and lumbering, some chugging at maniacal speeds. There are nice transitions that do not sound forced. The vocals consist of a male/female team who are both decent, dramatic, sometimes even operatic in sound. Occasionally the heavy rock stops and you move into calm waters where acoustic guitars and strings clear the air-these moments are very nice and provide a well rounded experience. And the melodies in these quiet portions are very beautiful. This is really a great song that is accessible to all prog fans, not just prog-metal fans. "I am your flesh" begins with more dual-guitar chug. They love to layer the guitars and let them twirl over each other which gives the album a unique sound-very powerful. The drumming is plenty competent but I agree with another reviewer who noted that the mix seems a bit strange on the drums. This track is OK but probably the least interesting and most predictable to me. "Kairos" is next and this is a short vocal track that is really lovely and haunting. Next comes "Weeping Willow" which continues the vibrant guitars while the early vocals are softly delivered over piano and are hard to understand. The song picks up speed to a good clip and coasts until the 7 minute mark when it gets better with a softer prelude to a nice guitar solo. The long title track is last and begins with a spacey sequence giving way to acoustics and strings again. Lovely. This song is another stunner on par with the opener: lots of movement, lots of changes, passionate vocals, interesting chord changes, beautiful lead work, creepy psych passages. What a great closer!.

So in summary this album is bookended by two tracks that are just absolute stunners, and together they comprise most of the album. I can easily recommend the album on the strength of those two songs. However I believe that "Flesh" and "Willow" are well below the quality of those two songs. They do not sustain their length and are less interesting and far less adventurous. The short breather "Kairos" is somewhere in between. So not a masterpiece in my eyes but still mostly excellent.

The booklet features some nice artwork and the complete lyrics.

The soundscapes provided on this album are melancholic,dark,crushingly heavy,tormented,pastoral and heartbreakingly beautiful. "299 796 km/s" opens with violin,and the heaviness is not far behind.Dual vocals come in as the song speeds up.There is a female soprano vocal melody before it gets pastoral again with violin(like intro).There is some mind bending guitar as well as some wonderful vocals from Synne,she can sing so beautifuly and yet sound so tortured at the same time.The throbbing bass is great,and so is the heaviness 14 minutes in.This song somehow can draw out my emotions."I am your Flesh" opens with blazing guitar,vocals and heavy riffs from the get go.It slows down 80 seconds in,before accelerating again with screaming guitar,incredible bass and pounding drums.This contrast continues,from atmospheric to very powerful.Amazing!"Kairos!" is the shortest with heavy guitars and those wonderful female vocals.Nice drumming on this one as well."Weeping Willow" has such a great guitar melody,then it gets heavy again of course.Some keys in this one as the melody speeds up.The sound becomes punishingly heavy as bass and drums lead the way 6 minutes in.The sound continues to be crushing with some scorching guitar solos.Nice.Great song! The final section "Omnio?" is over 26 minutes long and is divided into 3 parts.It starts with "Omnio?(pre)" as the guitars,violin and vocals lead the way.The song starts to build quickly 3 and a half minutes in and explodes with drums and a scathing guitar solo.More great guitar to follow and unearthly vocals.The sound 9 minutes in is ecstacy to my ears.More incredible bass."Omnio?(bardo)" has this experimental,spacey synth intro.Drums and guitar follow at a slow pace,but they start to build as the spacey soundscape continues!Holy crap!Unbelievable!"Omnio?(post)" opens with mellow piano and female vocals as sound increases.Male vocals and heavy riffs follow.Things quiet down as reserved male vocals are joined by spacey synths.Some scorching guitar as sound speeds up to the end of the song.What a ride!Let's do it again! This is essential,and i can guarantee if you liked GREEN CARNATION's "Light Of Day,Day Of Darkness",you'll love this one too.Actually the Botteri brother's and the female singer Synne from IN THE WOODS..., were part of GREEN CARNATION's first album "Journey To the End Of the Night" from 2000.In THE WOODS... last studio record came out in 1999 "Strange In Stereo" and then these three became part of GREEN CARNATION for one album only.I confess to have a rooted interest in Norwegian music,as my family history goes way back to Norway via Scotland.And i will say again, the music from this album will draw out of your heart and soul things you may not have felt in a long time.An emotional masterpiece!