CoC : Omnium Gatherum - Steal the Light : Review

Omnium Gatherum - _Steal the Light_
(Rage of Achilles, 2002)
by: Pedro Azevedo (8 out of 10)

If the words "In Flames meets Amorphis" make you retch with disgust, then you should read no further. If what you feel is quite the opposite, however, you should seek Omnium Gatherum's EP with some urgency, because you're bound to enjoy it. (Note: this is the Finnish Omnium Gatherum, not the Australian band of the same name.) Tight, well produced, full of catchy melodies and lots of good hooks, and with raspy vocals to help stay away from the lands of power metal, _Steal the Light_ is a darn enjoyable little EP in a way that reminds me of In Flames' _Subterranean_ EP when it came out. The songs are all consistent, well written and performed, making this EP a very decent value for the money. Omnium Gatherum's music on _Steal the Light_ is undeniably enjoyable and even uplifting in an old In Flames kind of way, though with more power metal guitar leads thrown in and some vaguely _Elegy_-era Amorphis touches here and there. The vocals are well suited to the music, as they provide some much-needed contrast against the overly melodic instrumental side and give the whole thing more edge. The guitar work isn't all melody though, and despite the absence of any real harshness the band still sounds heavy enough for their genre. A follow-up album called _Spirits and August Light_ is scheduled for a March 2003 release, and although I'm not sure they can easily pull off an entire full-length of this type of material, I'll nevertheless be curious to see what else the band have up their sleeves. For now, they have at least succeeded in releasing a highly playable EP.

Contact: http://omniumgatherum.cjb.net

(article published 26/3/2003)

ALBUMS
2/12/2012	M Dolson	10	Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows
9/30/2008	K Sarampalis	8	Omnium Gatherum - The Redshift
4/20/2007	K Sarampalis	7	Omnium Gatherum - Stuck Here On Snakes Way
11/29/2004	J Smit	7	Omnium Gatherum - Years in Waste
9/29/2003	P Azevedo	8	Omnium Gatherum - Spirits and August Light

DEMOS
8/12/2000	P Schwarz	2	Omnium Gatherum - Promo 99