HAND OF OMEGA hailing from Stoke-On-Trent, UK were formed in 2019. The Doom and Sludge Metal band release their debut album. “The End Of The Beginning” has a length of about 39 minutes and it is an independent release. The album starts with “Survival Of The Shittest”, a doom-laden track at a sluggish rhythm for most of the time, simple and direct guitar riffing, grim melodies, and growling vocals which vary slightly higher than the medium end of the guttural range. There are some twists and turns in tempo throughout the track, mainly between a measured tempo and mid-tempo. The final part is a bit frantic, with the track being played at crazy pace. “Cyberspace Conscript” follows similar sound patterns, but with more aggression in the riffing, the vocals, and with faster parts included. The vocals hardly vary with little tonal shifts during the track. “A Mentat’s Oath” starts at an insane pace but returns soon to a measured tempo with punishing riffs and blood-freezing melodies. There are short outbursts in pace in between. The track ends with a short cinematic sequence of spoken words. “A Mentat’s Oath” was released as lyric video and the YouTube link is provided below.

“Foundation Built On Shifting Sands” starts with an extended, tension-building pre-lude with guitars, bass, and drums. After two minutes, the tension is released with thunderous guitar riffing and vocal screams at a measured tempo. The riffing is simple and direct providing a bone-chilling melodic framework, which is intensified by the screams. The track is quite monotone for most of the playing time, however, there are a few short parts where the track is blisteringly fast and the doomy approach switches towards an aggressive, flesh-ripping, and blast-beat driven sound. This back and forth goes on for more than 11 minutes, and “Foundation Built On Shifting Sands” is the longest album song. “Amazon Burning” starts with another short pre-lude, driven by the bass leading into a track with a sluggish rhythm. The sound remains chilling, but with a bit more atmosphere driven by the guitars. One trademark of the album sound is that tracks do not follow one tempo and rhythm, there are always breaks and faster periods, and “Amazon Burning” is no exception from the rule. The guitar riffing is slightly more complex compared to the other tracks, and this makes “Amazon Burning” to one of the album highlights. The album finishes with “Convolution” and it is another track at a measured tempo. The guitar riffing seems to be CELTIC FROST/TRIPTYKON inspired during some of the tracks and most notably here. The melodies are blood-freezing throughout the track and are intensified by the screams once more. This is the only album track without any change in tempo, it is a steamroller from the first to the final note of the track.

HAND OF OMEGA deliver a spine-chilling debut album. “The End Of The Beginning” is a symbiosis of direct, aggressive riffing and doom-laden melodies without any trace of melancholy. While the sound is kept simple and monotone, there are twists and turns in almost every track to keep the listeners on their toes. The album production is a bit muddy, but this contributes to the darkness of the album. “The End Of The Beginning” is a decent beginning of the band’s career and it is in the hands of HAND OF OMEGA where their journey is destined to.