With origins from 2019, Swedish unit Omnicidal contains musicians with ties to acts like Lake of Tears, Sister Sin, and Rimfrost. They released two singles in 2021 to set the stage for signing with Non Serviam Records who issue this debut full-length, The Omnicidalist. The four-piece blends together the chainsaw death metal sound of old with melodic, Gothenburg-style touches – which presents a strong, potent set of material that normally is not inherent in a newer act at this stage of their career.
Choosing to record the musical components live on the floor (vocals and solos handled by the band themselves) gives these ten tracks a pure energized assault at any tempo – whether it’s the slow, militant crunch for “The Passenger” on through to the jagged, faster-paced salvos pushed along during “The Reaping”. The acidic desperation guitarist Sebastian Svedlund delivers in his growls or screams seethes in deadly command, racing at similar measures to the twin rhythms plus axe melody enhancement on highlights such as “By Knife” or “Cemetery Scream”. There’s a keen sense of when to accelerate or cruise into a comfortable groove-laden passage, all dependent on the atmosphere necessary track to track – “Infernum” synthesizing both elements as the gargantuan riffs penetrate when the rhythm section navigates deftly quicker to mid-tempo shifts across the arrangement. Closer “Slow Decay” uses a doom-like main hook to draw out an eerie finale, the low register voicing during the final 90 seconds could send chills while drummer Stefan Jansson hits his double kick/snare in almost a tribal summoning of your ending days.
It’s never easy to take aspects of early 90’s Entombed, Grave and Dismember and get them to collide headlong into the outlook of Slaughter of the Soul-period At the Gates or early In Flames – but Omnicidal clearly have a firm grasp of both key signature elements on The Omnicidalist. Well-executed songs, memorable lead breaks, dynamic musicianship – it’s all there and more. There’s no lack of excitement bubbling in the Swedish death metal landscape, and this is another record that epitomizes high quality in spades.