Omnihility – Dominion of Misery (Unique Leader)

Wednesday, 24th February 2016
Rating: 8/10

Poised to be examples of one of those bands that fits their label like a charm, Omnihility sounds very “Unique Leader” when you hear them. Spiraling and frantic riffs, low growled vocals, and modern production values – the battle to out-tech the rest of the label is still clearing going strong, and Omnihility have their work cut out for them based on the strengths of Dominion of Misery.

The strength of Dominion of Misery lies in Omnihility’s ability to mesh the uber-technical riffing with an old school death metal flair and sense of song structure. The ability to play jaw-dropping and dizzying riffs and progressions while attempting Origin-level speeds is not going to be a question, and the band frequently displays their prowess while keeping the brutality factor in mind. The ‘90s death metal influences keep Omnihility grounded, letting them go for some groove once in a while (see “Reflections in Blood”) instead of going for start-to-finish technical madness. They also keep things relatively short, reigning things in from going too far out there into progressive land, which also sharpens the visceral edge of the tracks. The interlude placed midway through the album (“Within Shadows”) works quite well and gives some reprieve to the listener before the second half starts.

A solid step-up from their last album, Dominion of Misery trims the fat and focuses on getting as much technical and brutal goodness out of each second possible. A small knock to the production is how loud everything seems to sound, but other than that, Omnihility are ready for the tech death big leagues with their ability to inject staggering musicianship into songs that actually sound like “songs” that you’ll remember when the album ends.

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