Saturday 2 May 2020

Desert Storm - OMENS (Album Review)


Release date: May 01st 2020. Label: APF Records Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Omens – Tracklisting

1.Omens 01:49
2.Black Bile 05:09
3.Vengeful Gods 05:11
4.Pain, Grief and Suffering 06:36
5.The Path of Most Resistance 06:16
6.The Machine 05:51
7.Lockjaw 03:13
8.Rebirth 05:14

Members

Matthew Ryan - Vocals
Ryan Cole - Guitar
Chris White - Guitar / Bass / Keyboards / Backing Vocals
Elliot Cole - Drums
Chris Benoist - Bass

Review

Omens is the 5th album from UK Sludge Metal Heavyweights Desert Storm and sees the band continue with the themes heard on 2018’s Sentinels. The album is quite progressive and the band channel their inner demons with this album. As it’s perhaps their bleakest work to date and I said that in my review about their last album but that still holds true here with Desert Storm channelling some top-notch NOLA Sludge Violent energy throughout this album.

The album opens with OMENS and it’s a bleak gloomy monologue from lead vocalist Matthew which sets the scene for a more atmospheric offering from the band.

Second song – Black Bile – is where the album really starts with a heavy combination of NOLA Sludge Grooves and Post-Doom based vibes that have an eerie Psychedelic feel to them. Desert Storm flirt between Ambient Post-Doom riffs and Heavier Sludge/Stoner sounds with expert timing and the song becomes more grounded as a result. The instrumental work is top-notch which is what you would expect from everyone concerned within the band.

Third song – Vengeful Gods – has a more direct approach with the band playing a more “Punk” based approach to their music and with Matthew threatening heavy vocals, the song plays at an addictive slow pace that opens the album to heavier moments of Doom/Sludge Metal. The lyrics I wasn’t entirely convinced with this on song but the music and Matthew vocals still make this one of the of standout songs on the album.

Desert Storm carry on the same trippy and progressive bleak sounds heard on the opening 3 songs for the remainder of the album with the band still finding the time to add new elements to their overall sound that we haven’t heard from the band before.

Omens fully hits it’s creative stride on the later stages with songs such as The Machine and Rebirth having the most intense and aggressive sounds on the record. 

Maybe, Desert Storm have become more pissed off at world since their last album but this allows the band to create bleak heavy Sludge Riffs to impress their dedicated fan-base with. And that’s all you can ask from a Desert Storm album. Omens is brilliantly entertaining from start to finish with a thrilling apocalyptic theme allowing Desert Storm to become one of the best and heaviest acts the UK Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal scene has to offer at the moment.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for the promo. Omens is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via APF Records.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp