SWINESONG

Okay, I have officially found the strangest album of the year. I recently received a request to review the debut album from Israeli prog metallers, Omb. This band has some experience, as the members were involved with such bands as Amaseffer and Reign of the Architect. So, these guys are by no means rookies. However, they needed a new and unique sound, and I believe they have achieved that in spades.

Omb is prog metal, yes. However, you don't often find such delicate violin solos, or such extensive use of horns and flutes, within the progressive metal genre. These two elements are also used in unique ways. The horns, for instance, do not serve as an epic climax instrument, but are indeed used regularly, almost as if in place of guitars. I am really impressed with this, as this takes a lot of balls to do this in such a nit-picky genre. Again and again, Omb wowed me with stunningly gentle pieces. However, they also bring the riffage, too. They jam, and they jam hard. The style is very acrobatic, as the time signatures just fly by as the band switches again and again. Yet, unlike some other bands, they do this without losing melody or rhythm! On top of all this, they bring a layer of almost "noir psychedelia", if that makes sense. It pervades every part of this album, from the pervasive use of horns and lonely violin to the nervous whispers and perverted, quivering vocal passages.

Speaking of, I must write separately about the vocalist. Singer Davidavi Dolev has a very difficult voice to describe and to absorb. His vocals are all over the place, sometimes with a bit of whine and sometimes with a deeply disturbing edge to them. He provides some harsh vox too, that are very hoarse. Now, I will admit that his voice is something of a challenge for me. However, I've come to appreciate it; and, when you combine all his various styles, you get something that no one else is doing. That, my friends, is impressive.

This album is interesting on a lyrical side. The album covers so many things, from personality disorders to love to broken promises. It's all over the place really, but I feel that they all share a common core in the raw human experience. I think that's what this album, and Omb themselves, are all about, too. They want to convey the piggish, raw side of life that we often glaze over or ignore. This effort has not been in vain, and is certainly the weirdest musical journey I've taken this year. The chaotic, rough side to the band is completely balanced out by the neo-classical, delicate, controlled side; and I find this to be a perfect representation of the lyrical content, as well. Pick up this album only if you have the guts to sit through an incredibly strange, but fantastically genius, musical pilgrimage through the rough spots of the human experience.