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A Hill To Die Upon- Omens
A Hill To Die Upon- OmensLet's just go ahead and get this out of the way first: Illinois Black/Death band A Hill To Die Upon are indeed a Christian band. For the most part, it is not hammered down your throat, but it becomes pretty obvious quickly(a song titled "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" pretty much spells it out for you).
This is me not giving a fuck.
Anyway, Omens is the new full length from AHTDU, and it is surprisingly solid, if mostly forgettable. The band, which consists of brothers Adam and Michael Cook and whoever else they can get, have gone through various and massive sound changes throughout a very difficult career, before finally settling on technical Blackend Death Metal with their first full-length Infinite Titanic Immortal in 2009. Omens is a continuation of this sound: technical, dissonant riffs that remind one of Deathspell Omega with bursts of Angelcorpse and Bolt Thrower type speed. These riffs are complex and interesting enough to hold your attention, and the solid production has everything sounding good.
There is nothing I would describe as "life-changing" here: this band is not doing anything you have never heard before, and they are not doing anything better than anyone else. The talent and desire is obvious, but the execution is lacking to an extent. Omens has the needed pieces to be something special, but the bands inexperience with this style of music shows in the rather lackluster moments when picking out specific riffs or concepts becomes difficult.
If you can deal with the whole "Jesus" thing, I would still recommend giving Omens a listen. There is nothing here for the die-hard or elite, but for everyone else, Omens provides a mildly entertaining listen for a few spins, and puts A Hill To Die Upon on my list of bands to watch out for in the future.
6.5/10
This is me not giving a fuck.
Anyway, Omens is the new full length from AHTDU, and it is surprisingly solid, if mostly forgettable. The band, which consists of brothers Adam and Michael Cook and whoever else they can get, have gone through various and massive sound changes throughout a very difficult career, before finally settling on technical Blackend Death Metal with their first full-length Infinite Titanic Immortal in 2009. Omens is a continuation of this sound: technical, dissonant riffs that remind one of Deathspell Omega with bursts of Angelcorpse and Bolt Thrower type speed. These riffs are complex and interesting enough to hold your attention, and the solid production has everything sounding good.
There is nothing I would describe as "life-changing" here: this band is not doing anything you have never heard before, and they are not doing anything better than anyone else. The talent and desire is obvious, but the execution is lacking to an extent. Omens has the needed pieces to be something special, but the bands inexperience with this style of music shows in the rather lackluster moments when picking out specific riffs or concepts becomes difficult.
If you can deal with the whole "Jesus" thing, I would still recommend giving Omens a listen. There is nothing here for the die-hard or elite, but for everyone else, Omens provides a mildly entertaining listen for a few spins, and puts A Hill To Die Upon on my list of bands to watch out for in the future.
6.5/10
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