The current net progressive metal has cast couldn’t be bigger. Where once many said the style had distinct limitations, there doesn’t appear to be much, especially when the likes of Devin Townsend, Periphery, and Between the Buried and Me are all bona fide names across the metal spectrum. The doors are open, so it’s cool to see someone like The Omega Experiment waltz right in with their own take on dreamy prog metal.
Their self-titled debut bumps uglies with a lot of what Townsend has done throughout his career, albeit done with a more uplifting twist. The creation of multi-instrumentalist and singer Dan Wieten, The Omega Experiment’s lyrical impetus comes from the man’s battles with substance abuse, making this one of those tried-and-true “overcome the odds” albums. And it feels good. The songs, that is. Keyboards shower the tracks, but don’t totally get in the way (“Stimulus”), while expansive tension is built on the excellent “Furor,” where loads of vocal licks and tricks get to take a bow.
Wieten and crew go for the jugular on “Karma,” a seven-minute and 50 second exercise that has just about everything a goer of this style could want: tricky solo, a hefty breakdown, and melodic energy that is hard to deny. Best of all, the album was recorded on the band’s own dime and produced/engineered by Wieten himself. The next Devin perhaps? Hopefully Wieten doesn’t have endure the same trials and tribulations as Townsend, but from a pure sonic standpoint, this is going to turn a lot of heads.