Omega Massif - Karpatia ALBUM REVIEW

Omega Massif craft another round of dark soundscapes on their second release 'Karpatia'. They create contrasts between thundering low-end, and streaking gliding high-end sounds. The bass and drums comprise the rock & dirt, while the guitars are the fog & sky. The guitars ring out reflecting the grandiose view obtained from a high plateau with drumming to go along with the footsteps of a man traversing a rocky terrain. Karpatia paints a picture of a dark Eastern-European forest devoid of light, full of dangerous creatures and difficult terrain.

The opening track enters in, blasts of guitar shoot through; thick riffs over war drums as the horse riders enter battle. The track progresses as thick sludge is moving, the bass and dark guitar set a dense underbelly to the track. A strumming rhythm guitar with a droning high-pitch guitar waning in the background, it's a dark ritual in heavy fog. They cast a thick black "Aura", no one can see drowning in the pulsing bass, screaming guitars, and rain-of-hail drums. The slow, heaving drum activates a pained shreaking guitar, slowly evolving into some strumming and bass while a streaming reverberated guitar echoes in the background. "Aura" is a collection of different riff and tempos all encompassing a thick bogged sound. As soon as one turns around, a pack of "Wölfe" is running at them with gnarling guitars, and sprinting drums. Sinister riffs, and thundering drums it's a dark night in the forest. Twanging strings and bass drones create a suspenseful dark feel.

"Ursus Arctos" is translated to "Brown Bear". The track accompanies the bear through its rambling, eating, and running in a dark forest. The guitars drone on in distortion, the residues of the decayed plant life. Around 5:30 there are some jets of guitar ripping back and forth. The darker guitar undulates slowly as the lighter guitar pops in and out adding some higher-end layers, eventually bleeding into a rumbling storm. "Im Karst" refers to an area of limestone, many new territories of riffs and tempos are explored. The title track has swirling guitar distortion with a sluggish drum beat as more and more saturation is added to the echoing guitars. 'Steinernes Meer' is a high karst plateau in the Northern Limestone Alps. The track starts off with minimal instrumentation sans a steady drum beat. The guitars shape the rock as the percussion represents steady movement across the plateau. The eeriness settles in as all the instruments show up at around 4:30. The two guitars take turns leading the scene, carving rock smoothly, or chopping and creating crags.

These guys craft dark scenery represented on their album art. The spirit is aroused when in dark, exciting, potentially dangerous places and the music reflects the humanization of that landscape. They talk of Wölfe and Brown Bears; these are animals that are due consideration when traveling in a dark forest. It is perfect for accompanying the hiking/climbing of a mountain. The vocal-less instrumental music leaves behind human-on-human interaction; Karpatia focuses on humans reaction to landscapes and lower beasts. It's a primal encounter relying on physical abilities rather than ability to mentally outwit.




Link