Normally you wouldn’t associate Germany with stoner infused southern rock grooves, but Omega Soul are here to change that. Formed in Nürnberg in 2009, the 5 piece underwent some line up changes whilst releasing two demo’s before setting on the current line up. After signing with FDA in 2013, the band are set to unleash their long awaited Teutonic groove worship filled debut offering. Let’s go into the void and see what’s there.
“Darkness Inside” opens up with a very hypnotic sound. Hypnotic guitars with some crisp and thick sounding distortion, clear bass and steady paced drums in the styling’s of The Sword get you nodding along and when the verse kicks in, the groove just grabs you. It’s got a real southern rock feel to it in the verses with some raw, sleazy sounding vocals which just give it a laid back feel over the punchy riffs and the guitar solo later on in the song has that bluesy feel to it – full of expression and great tone! “Infinite Flesh” takes a different approach. Right at the start the sleazy vocals get a bit more dirty with a harsh growl approach to them and right away Phil Ansemlo springs to mind. The song has that down-tuned, dirty sludge feel to it with a slow crushing pace and some serious weight behind the riffs, kind of like Down. It picks up a little with some good groove filled moments in the verses, but it really comes to life in the slower chorus sections which have that ominous vibe to them and when the vocals begin to get more tormented it really shines. Halfway through there is a great stomp-groove section with some twisting leads and this feel stays till the end of the track.
“Shadows” keeps the moody feel from the previous track. It starts off with some clean guitar and bass work which sets a real dark vibe, and the clean singing just adds to the sinister edge this track begins with. Once the distortion kicks in though, shit gets heavy real quick. Big Black Sabbath styled riffing with the Anselmo like growls over the slow crushing feel just hits hard, and the angry sounding stomp groove section towards the end of the track just tops it off nicely. “A Sinister Burden” is more lively. It’s got a big groove which has a real Clutch feel to it. The thundering groove and sleazy rock and roll vibe is a welcome change of pace from the previous two tracks and the bass really stands out in this song, driving it along. In the bass break, there are some little bluesy fills which add some flavour to the track, but it’s all about the bass in this one. It sounds so clear and it just pushes the song on.
“All My Fears” keeps the Clutch vibe going. It’s a little lighter sounding than the other tracks in the sense that it isn’t as heavy, but it’s still full of infectious groove. The vocals in this one are really raw sounding and powerful and in the sludge riff worthy chorus the dirty riffs and vocals just click together in a majestic way. Sound wise, even though it’s not as heavy as the other tracks, it still comes across quite dark, and the thick wah pedal tone on some of the lead fills and the brilliant lead section round the 3:10 mark makes it sound incredible. “Scorpio Moon” has a slight drone like feel to it in the intro as the simple riff is allowed to ring out. This continues into the verse and as the song goes on, you get the feel that this is a very heavy version of Kyuss in terms of how hypnotic it is at times. In the chorus there is some full on riff worship as the pace picks up a little and it gets more lively and after a slight mellow part near the end of the track, the riffs return once again. It’s a good track, but quite easy to just zone out to and miss a lot of.
“Shelter” is a total riff fest. It’s got a slow feel which has that crushing sound to it. The vocals are raw as hell and they sound a little laboured at times which just adds to that crushing vibe. The deep sounding bass and that Iommi-styled guitar work just works perfectly, going from the slow feel in the start to the more groove filled sections later in the track and when it comes into the home stretch, the song is fantastic. At the 4:50 mark it goes into the full riff worship mode again with a series of groove laden riffs and a beautiful sounding outro solo which caps it brilliantly. It’s the best track on the album easily. “Seasons of Fire” closes the album. It has a clean, melodic sounding intro which gradually builds up as the band slowly joins in for the first portion of the song. It has that Kyuss feel as everything starts to build up and when it finally kicks in round the 3 minute mark, it kicks in good. The slow paced approach with hard hitting riffs, steady rhythm and powerful vocals makes the build up worth it. It goes from hypnotic to Sabbath-like at the flick of a switch and the vocals are powerful but not as raw as some of the previous tracks which works well in this instance. The groove works well and the lead guitar is brilliant with the slight bluesy feel it has in parts over the stomping feel. On the whole, it’s a fantastic end to the album.
“Void” is a good album. It starts off solid and ends solid. It’s got some good moments in-between but does suffer from some moments in the middle where you can just lose track of it. It’s worth a listen and it caters to stoner, doom and sludge fans with its full on riff, groove and raw approach. Step into the void and get yourself lost!
(7/10 Fraggle)
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