OMEGA INFINITY

Darker strands of metal are of course commonly associated with a variety of subjects like gore, Satanism and the occult, but styles like death metal and black metal do reach beyond. The international act OMEGA INFINITY is one such band. Their 2020 debut album, "Solar Spectre", touched upon the grandiosity of the infinite, a conceptual voyage into "The Void," as they call it. It was essentially the soundtrack to a journey through our solar system. Musically, it was a blend of raging black metal, harsh electronics and dark ambience.

The band returns now with "The Anticurrent". Unlike the debut that focused upon the bleakness of space, OMEGA INFINITY's sophomore effort explores time: starting with The Big Bang, running through the rise and fall of civilization, and finally through the end of the universe. The tone is obviously dark and negative, and however one perceives that, the most important thing is that they make it sound so good.

While OMEGA INFINITY came together in 2018, the act is comprised of seasoned musicians who have been recording with bands for 20 years. German multi-instrumentalist Tentakel Parkinson's resume includes TODTGELICHTER and ENMERKAR, and vocalist Xenoyr has been involved in ANTIQVA, and he's the longtime singer for none other than NE OBLIVISCARIS. The veteran status is evident with the elaborate and remarkable nature of each song. "The Anticurrent" is an exercise in controlled madness. Any immediate slice of the album may seem like pandemonium on the surface, but it's truly a soundtrack to chaos theory, the idea that apparent elements of randomness in the universe are actually segments of patterns once one takes a step back to perceive the entire, big picture.

The release's opening number, "The Alpha", concurrently pairs rabid extreme metal with measured, slow piano. It doesn't make sense at first, but Tentakel ties the music together as the song progresses. OMEGA INFINITY regularly couples insane and furious blackened death with beautiful keyboard and synth work, as they do on "To The Stars", a song that includes slower paced reprieves that are also driven by bold, heavy metal guitar melodies. Twelve-minute closer "Voices From The End Of Time" is a stunning display of blackened tech death that is cinematic in scope, not at all sounding like Sweden's DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE, yet it mirrors that now-defunct Swedish act's spirit.

Several guest vocalists are sprinkled across "The Anticurrent", augmenting Xenoyr's beefy low-end and aggressive black metal shrieks. SEVEN SPIRES' Adrienne Cowan offers soothing clean vocals that dramatically contrast Xenoyr's menacing attack on "Iron Age". This track, as well as "Banish Us From Eden" and "To The Stars", bring to mind the mysterious Australian band PORTAL with bending, disturbing guitar melodies. It's a head-scratching choice, but András Nagy provides potent black metal screams on "Night Journey", a cover of his own band, Hungary's SEAR BLISS. And finally, OMEGA INFINITY offers a unique take on EMPEROR's "Ye Entrancemperium" with the incorporation of operatic singing, courtesy of TODTGELICHTER's MJ Braun.

OMEGA INFINITY isn't flying under the radar in extreme metal circles. But there is no question that the project is worthy of more attention and praise. The band respects the roots and foundation of heavy metal and extreme metal, and they leverage that as well as their considerable talents toward the kind of genuine, forward-thinking expression that will allow metal to grow. "The Anticurrent" is mandatory listening for extreme metal fans who are on the hunt for something new.