OM

OM" is one of the best Black Metal albums ever recorded.

Romania. Black Metal. Now, thanks to Negura Bunget, I can easily this country and genre analogy that otherwise I would have never even dreamed of doing. This band has been around for awhile, but only in 2006 they got recognized and praised. "OM" is now, after only five years, considered to be one of the best Black Metal albums ever recorded. I'm not a big expert of the genre yet, but so far this seems to be THE best. I'm not exaggerating. This blew me away completely in every way.

Everything a Black Metal fan loves about the genre is here: harsh vocals, lo-fi production when it comes to the metal parts, tremolo picking. But there is so much more: the band, since they come from a country like Romania, absorbs a lot of traditional instruments, such as and incorporates them in the music, even in the more intense moments. But what makes this band and this album extremely interesting is their atmospheric and more progressive side: Many ambient moments, played with synths, can be found in this album, and they have an incredibly lush and clean sound, creating this gloomy and eerie atmosphere that I've never heard in a Black Metal album. The musicians are great, and their knowledge of traditional Eastern European music is pretty hearable.

Even though the songs are all in Romanian, as well as the title of the songs, it's pretty obvious that OM is a concept album; knowing that "OM" means "human", and the album has in the beginning "Primul Om" (the first human) and at the very last track "Al Doilea Om" (the second human). The album is extremely solid and consistent, with a majority of metal moments over the ambient ones, which is another reason for BM fans to love this album. I honestly can't think of a bad song here: the three minute intro sets up an eerie and very creepy atmosphere, immediately after that the twelve minute epic " Tesarul De Lumini", one of BM's best songs, with plenty of time and mood changes that perfectly flow one into another. The already mentioned "Primul Om" sets another stage for the rest of the album, still creepy but much more progressive sounding, with two fundamental changes in the three minutes. From there a bunch of masterpieces: "Cunoasterea Tacuta" is probably the most haunting song here, especially in the second part, where it gets much more experimental. "Inarborat" makes another great addiction, and "Dedesuptul" is one of the most guitar based songs off the album. Another interlude follows, this time an instrumental non synth based. "De Piatra" is the most in your face and harsh song of the album, "Cel Din Urma Vis" is a ten minute epic that has a first, more BM part, then gets really ambient, then again turning into the first part. "Hora Soarelui" too starts with a strong riff, but then becomes a sort of homage to Romanian folk music. The outro "Al Doilea Om" closes the album magnificently.

"OM" is an essential album for any metal fan, one of those gems that are a definite must- listen. Rarely I am this impressed.

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