It’s no surprise to anyone that knows me that I have a certain soft spot of sorts for creative, tasteful synth work in the world of metal. It seems like now more than ever, too, that groups seem to be venturing off into the deep dark world of synth texturing to help bring their sound to life; to help elevate their writing to the next level. Bands like Northlane and Kingdom of Giants are leading the pack for this in my eyes; carrying the torch for the more tasteful of the electronicore wave (much like I See Stars, whom I recently professed my undying love for right here). So, when my first ears were treated to a taste of this new project from Dutch group Another Now (a group who, up to that point, I had never heard of), my ears pricked up with excitement at the very prospect of another group carrying that torch, delving further into this world of synth-laden metalcore.
See, to me OMNI feels like a love letter to electronicore; to 2010s metalcore – but modernized in a way that gives it this sense of freshness. Perhaps I’m biased due to my love of the style, but what Another Now have crafted here – while it may not all be perfect – is an absolute blast. Third track “TROJAN”, more than any other track here, embodies what I love about OMNI in one dense, tight package. Ballistic electronics, spasmic riffs and truly evil screamed vocals, juxtaposed wonderfully by its soaring, melodic chorus. It’s a true highlight, and one that showcases Another Now’s broad sonic palette like no other cut from OMNI.
Late album cut “Hollow” further demonstrates the group’s breadth and strengths, opening with some glitzy synths and a groovy nu-metal esque riff, the track soon establishes this planet-sized ambience that it carries extremely well throughout. Much like “Trojan”, the juxtaposition here is what makes “Hollow” feel so engaging. Its soaring chorus and gargantuan atmosphere, juxtaposed by arguably the very heaviest breakdown across this entire record really work to capture your attention.
Mid-album track “Colors” serves as quite the highlight too, building through its verses with this subdued, almost spoken-word-esque vocal. Taking a page out of Sleep Token’s book, however, its more subdued and deceivingly melodic seem to serve to lull you into a false sense of security, while the track hides its nefarious intentions until much later. Around the beginning of its second half, the track explodes into this low-tuned, djenty breakdown. The slow build to that point really helps add emphasis to what wouldn’t have seemed out of place at almost any other point on OMNI, and instead elevates the track to being one of the most memorable and dynamic across the record.
In general, the guitar work from Miquell Kleuters across this thing is the real showstopper on OMNI. With this innate, acute sense of groove across almost every track here, along with the soaring, melodic leads, the riff work here ends up being the true highlight on the record. Late-album track “Laika” demonstrates how much of a force to be reckoned with Kleuters is, exploding at multiple points into not only some insanely technical and groovy riffing, but further venturing into the tech-metal world with some mind-melting sweeps – akin to something you’d hear on an early Born of Osiris record. Further, I have to commend vocalists Stef Rikken and Rik Bosmans for their work here, too. From the dirtiest low growls; to the most piercing high screams; to some truly gorgeous clean vocals – it feels like both vocalists spend much of OMNI (rightfully) flexing their insane ranges – it’s truly something to behold.
Admittedly, the album is not without its duller moments. More stripped back cuts “Vapors” and “Outflow”, while demonstrating well the group’s range, bring the tempo down without bringing anything near as substantive as some of the heavier cuts on here. That’s not to say these songs are outright bad, however the lack of some of the harsher dynamics seen on the stronger cuts here does detriment the flow and sense of place in these songs across the album. The former of the two tracks is definitely the strongest of the two, however, featuring some slick drum-n-bass-inspired grooves and fun guitar work. I don’t think it was quite enough to convince me, however. As, truthfully, I think the lack of a true release on these songs is what leaves them still feeling relatively lacklustre, despite any pretty production or instrumental work the songs may contain.
Overall, though, despite some minor hiccups, OMNI is an extremely solid foray into modern metalcore. While feeling like a love letter of sorts to late-00s/early-10s electronicore, make no mistake that OMNI is far from living in the genre’s shadow – this is a true modernization of the sound. I truly hope Another Now gain some traction from this, because with a debut this solid, there’s no doubt they’ll do great things in the future. OMNI is available now via self-release, and you can purchase or stream the album here.
8/10