Melodic Death Metal is a genre that along with Metalcore has become a trend and thousands of bands are being formed every day. The originality of the genre has been lost and mediocrity has risen above to cover the brutal/melodic Metal scene. OMNIUM GATHERUM is one the bands mentioned above, regarding the genre, but it seems they have something special that helps them avoid the pile of mediocre shit.

The Finnish metallers have taken their name from the Latin language and translated literally it means 'a grouping of all things'. Not necessarily people, objects or anything else. Anyway, I knew their name, even though I didn't have the chance to listen to any of their previous works. The album starts with the intro The Snake And The Way, an atmospheric intro with acoustic guitars, and then get ready for Into Sea, a track that will kick your hairy ass!

The riff that opens the track is fucking heavy and groovy bringing back good memories of PANTERA, and the synths along with the great guitar melodies enter to complete the best song in this album in my humble opinion. I think the groove and the incredible melodies are mostly the work of three members of this band. I believe that Jarmo and Harri handle the groove because their other band (TOTAL DEVASTATION) is a groovier and more brutal version of OMNIUM GATHERUM. The other guitarist, Markus must be the mastermind behind the melodies, since he is the guitarist of MALPRACTICE, a Finnish Progressive Metal band that rocked my socks off with its latest album (you can also read the review here on Metal Temple).

The involvement of different musicians is what makes this band sound so interesting. The music is nothing so original or groundbreaking but OMNIUM GATHERUM manage to create something that will not disappoint any melodic Death Metal fan. The album's structure is what I mentioned above. Brutality mixed with groove and nice melodies.

If you are looking for some stuff that are similar to bands like ARCH ENEMY, SOILWORK, IN FLAMES and some times seem to get close to THE CROWN, you have found exactly what you need. I don't know if I am going to listen to this album many more times, but I am sure that it will be stuck in my mind as one of the really good releases for this kind of music. Enjoy...