2-piece Louisiana based black metal band Ominous Hymn formed in 2014 and are a self-acclaimed entity dedicated to the obliteration of religion, ignorance and superstition. A relentless onslaught against dogma, in fact.
Artwork by Mark Riddick and band logo by Christophe Szpajdel. *All copyrights belong to their respective owners.*
With a demo, EP and split release already under their belts prior, August 2015 saw the band’s next move of attack with the release of their second EP entitled simply, Promo EP.
The EP starts almost immediately with Parasitic Virtue, riddled with blast beats, a crunchy guitar tone and surprisingly plenty of hooks! Something which is definitely worth mentioning is the obvious tip of the hat towards Leviathan. Upon my first listen, I immediately notice the similarities between both bands vocal approach. Ominous Hymn’s vocals fall nothing short of blasphemous and are some of the best I’ve heard from the genre for a little while.
With the second track Banners Raised Against God and Creation, the band surely enough continue to take thy Lord’s name in vain. This track continues to follow a very much similar structure to the previous track but it doesn’t stop their momentum. The production so far is pleasing to listen to; the drums are clean and played particularly well, strings audible and vocals sit very happily within the mix.
Broc – Vocals, Guitar // Zach – Drums *All copyrights belong to their respective owners.*
The final and in my honest opinion the strongest track, As Earth and Heaven Burn wraps everything up satisfyingly well. This track in particular is arranged exceedingly well and the riffs create this beautiful, hauntingly damp, eerie atmosphere. As this song reaches it’s midpoint, the arpeggio(?) riff is indeed very catchy and compliments the rest of the instrumentation.
Ominous Hymn are come across as musicians with a clear musical vision without aid of cheap gimmicks typically found within the black metal. The band have a organic sound and it’s refreshingly straight up. No cheap thrills indeed. Even after numerous listens, the charm of this EP hasn’t weakened at all. I encourage all fans of the sub-genre to lend their ears to this cracking little EP!
I must also highlight the absolutely beautiful artwork by Mark Riddick. If the band’s music was any other medium such as a painting, I’m pretty damn sure it’d look something like that artwork. Follow him and his work at http://riddickart.com/
EP rating: 8.5/10
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