Review
Only 5 years old and yet, a very impressive CV. From the very beginning, Bad Omens have managed to make a name for themselves, getting noticed by Sumerian Records and offering themselves some great tours and festival appearances. Their eponymous debut album had created a buzz since its release in 2016 and it was time to move on to the painful stage of the second album: confirm or douse the hopes placed in them.
The teasing of this second opus lasted almost a year between the release of the first single Careful What You Wish For on August 23, 2018 and the release of the album this August 2, 2019, that is to say almost 3 years after the first record. In total, there are 4 singles to which we will be entitled as a preview and the least we can say is that we have not been disappointed for a penny! And the order of release has also been well thought out. With Careful What You Wish For and The Hell I Overcome, Bad Omens gave us two very good tracks that perfectly followed the line of the first opus while bringing a few touches of novelty here and there: a more natural voice from Noah, a better production and more ambient samples.
The next two singles, Burning Out and Said & Done, showed a real evolution in Bad Omens’ music. Burning Out is definitely the big hit of this album: melody that stays in your head from the first listen, sing-alongs and Noah’s voice that you can now easily recognize. As for Said & Done, they offer us a more rocking track with its guitar solo and its numerous melodic flights. A method that reminds us of a band they were compared to from the beginning, especially vocally: Bring Me The Horizon. A resemblance to which they manage to distance themselves without cutting the bridges: the fault of Noah’s timbre which reminds of Old Sykes’.
With 4 singles, we already knew about half of the album before it was even released. And if the other 6 tracks were of the same calibre, this would have been one of the best metal records of the year! Nevertheless, the opening song could not be considered metal. With vibes worthy of post-2010 Linkin Park (RIP Chester Bennington), it is indeed far from the thunderous riffs of Glass Houses that opened the previous record. The effect is, however, just as successful! A more than pleasant introduction that confirms what was already apparent in the first singles: Noah’s vocal parts are more prominent. Beside that, Running In Circles is a very good track but certainly the weak point of “Finding God Before God Finds Me” because 90% of it has already been done… by Bring Me The Horizon. This track would have fit on “Sempiternal” without problems. On a lesser level, the similarities between BMTH and Bad Omens can also be heard on Mercy without spoiling our listening pleasure.
Amongst the good surprises, Dethrone is clearly the most brutal track of this opus. Between softer tracks with clear voice choruses, the mosh-parts that remind us of Emmure are pleasant and remind us that Bad Omens is basically a metal band. The album also ends with a little sweetness: If I’m There whose rather joyful melody contrasts royally with the darkness of the lyrics. A contrast that is present throughout the 10 tracks.
They managed to quickly make themselves noticed in this metalcore sphere that is so saturated nowadays and bring a real touch of freshness. Already capable of composing powerful hits from their first album (The Worst In Me and The Fountain in particular), Bad Omens did it again this year with a more complete, more accomplished, more mature album and with real gems such as Burning Out and Careful What You Wish For. A band that continues to move forward at great speed and that we will have to keep a close eye on!