Review by Felix on April 18, 2024.

I picked up this album for a review, because I wanted to give Omission a second chance. Their debut did not convince me, to say the least, but 14 years and six albums later it’s a matter of new game, new luck, right? Okay, the Spanish black thrash dudes are still somewhat confused: who the hell needs a Springsteen cover (“Roulette”)? You say nobody, but I disagree. That is at least one person too many. Anyway, nowadays the band is also able to show its musical muscles. “Hatred Circles” boasts with compelling riffing, “Shrouded Alive” smashes lukewarm pseudo-maniacs with its primitive hammering and “Slow and Crooked” seems to be partly lethargic at first glance, but do not underestimate its high speed outburst. It lends the song a certain quantum of dynamics.

“Disciples of Ravens Vengeance” is based on a very raspy guitar sound. The voice contributes the preliminary stage to hysteria, the drums do not fall by the wayside in the overall sound picture. Sometimes even the bass can be heard, haha. So the production is absolutely adequate and I also like the classy artwork. But to be honest, the musicians still have room for improvement when it comes to the songwriting. “Burn the Cross” was due to whatever reason the advance track, also its stupid one-tone-chorus goes down the drain. Worse still, the entire track avoids any exciting moment with great ease. And what the hell was “Conspiracy from Murks” all about? No clue, it’s another pretty colourless track. It comes and goes and I have forgotten each and every tone of the song after its end immediately (or even a little bit earlier…).

I may not forget to speak about the magnum opus of the album. “It’s Better to Burn Out” has a playtime of more than eleven minutes and I wonder why the band takes one of my daily thoughts in the office for a song title. Either way, this monumental piece reflects the little dilemma of Omission, because some parts are good, some are so-so (for example the soft campfire guitar intro which is not bad per se, but with more than two minutes definitely too long) and I cannot say that the song shines with total coherence. By the way, it’s an instrumental. That’s no problem, but you need a special attitude for such a number. Therefore I think the guys do not lack self-confidence. This is probably a helpful characteristic on their road ahead, but pretty strange in view of their present performance level. I am still no die hard fan of the formation and sometimes it seems to me that the global metal community suffers from too much rather than too little bands. But I appreciate the stamina, the integrity and the evolution of the guys. Maybe their next album shows their real strength.

Rating: 5.9 out of 10