Who are these trippers I hear you ask?
Om were a two peice,formed from the suspicious ashes of Stoner/Doom Legends Sleep.With just drums,bass and vocals,the band played doom metal that was structured like Tibetan Chanting,and lyrics touching on mystical,ancient religious themes.After taking on new drummer Emil Amos in 2008,the band has taken a new direction,recently becoming a 3 piece with the addition of Robert Lowe.Now using sitars,cello's and flutes,and occasionally kicking in the overdrive for some sabbath worship,Advaitic Songs is hard to understand at first.
Most bands write an album all in the one language.Not Om.Opening track,Addis, begins with a solo female vocalist,providing some hypnotic middle eastern gibberish (I'm sure it actually means something pretty mind blowing),before the band kicks in with drums,bass,tabla and cello.Truly unlike anything they have previously written.
It's not until track two,State Of Non-Return,that we hear some of the heavy drum/bass riffage that the band are known for,however in a slightly different way,the song ending on some fantastic,natural melodies combined with the that Cisneros rhythm.
Track 4,Sinai,is where things really start to make sense for me.Once again starting with some mysterious language, accompanied by
ethereal noises,but the deep rumblings of a Rickenbacker provide a complete drop into the void of Cisnerosity.
At times,it can feel as though the band are taking the whole religious/middle eastern theme a little be too seriously,the meaning of which is very easily lost on the listener.Perhaps the band has moved a little too far forward,as though there's some kind of missing album in between Advaitic Songs and the previous effort,God Is Good,that would demonstrate the progression to the current release.After more than a few listens,the picture becomes clearer,with some rich textures and fantastic use of melody,an element which previous Om records have been almost completely devoid of.If you were expecting another Conference Of The Birds,with its minimalist Doom metal,you will be disappointed.Take the time however to let it sink in,you will realise just how 'heavy' this record is,despite being not heavy at all in the traditional sense.
With this album,Om hold the flag of a curious offshoot from the Stoner/Doom genre,joined by bands like Earth and Grails (of whom Emil Amos is a founding member).This stream is moving away from the C tuned,deep,distorted heavy vibe of the past and ushering a completely different approach,using acoustic and world instruments to create the same,heavy,droning feel,but in a completely relaxed way.
I would have loved to have heard more of a marriage of the traditional heaviness with with this deep,textured vibe the band now has,but it's wrong to expect anything of such progressive musicians,who are always one step ahead,keeping it fresh and interesting.Rather,just sit back and enjoy what the band has created.
Om were a two peice,formed from the suspicious ashes of Stoner/Doom Legends Sleep.With just drums,bass and vocals,the band played doom metal that was structured like Tibetan Chanting,and lyrics touching on mystical,ancient religious themes.After taking on new drummer Emil Amos in 2008,the band has taken a new direction,recently becoming a 3 piece with the addition of Robert Lowe.Now using sitars,cello's and flutes,and occasionally kicking in the overdrive for some sabbath worship,Advaitic Songs is hard to understand at first.
Most bands write an album all in the one language.Not Om.Opening track,Addis, begins with a solo female vocalist,providing some hypnotic middle eastern gibberish (I'm sure it actually means something pretty mind blowing),before the band kicks in with drums,bass,tabla and cello.Truly unlike anything they have previously written.
It's not until track two,State Of Non-Return,that we hear some of the heavy drum/bass riffage that the band are known for,however in a slightly different way,the song ending on some fantastic,natural melodies combined with the that Cisneros rhythm.
Track 4,Sinai,is where things really start to make sense for me.Once again starting with some mysterious language, accompanied by
ethereal noises,but the deep rumblings of a Rickenbacker provide a complete drop into the void of Cisnerosity.
At times,it can feel as though the band are taking the whole religious/middle eastern theme a little be too seriously,the meaning of which is very easily lost on the listener.Perhaps the band has moved a little too far forward,as though there's some kind of missing album in between Advaitic Songs and the previous effort,God Is Good,that would demonstrate the progression to the current release.After more than a few listens,the picture becomes clearer,with some rich textures and fantastic use of melody,an element which previous Om records have been almost completely devoid of.If you were expecting another Conference Of The Birds,with its minimalist Doom metal,you will be disappointed.Take the time however to let it sink in,you will realise just how 'heavy' this record is,despite being not heavy at all in the traditional sense.
With this album,Om hold the flag of a curious offshoot from the Stoner/Doom genre,joined by bands like Earth and Grails (of whom Emil Amos is a founding member).This stream is moving away from the C tuned,deep,distorted heavy vibe of the past and ushering a completely different approach,using acoustic and world instruments to create the same,heavy,droning feel,but in a completely relaxed way.
I would have loved to have heard more of a marriage of the traditional heaviness with with this deep,textured vibe the band now has,but it's wrong to expect anything of such progressive musicians,who are always one step ahead,keeping it fresh and interesting.Rather,just sit back and enjoy what the band has created.
No comments:
Post a Comment