From Zurich, Switzerland comes a death metal group called Omophagia. If you Google the word, you will quickly find out that the definition refers to the consumption of raw flesh where its most commonly used in the context of cult worship. This result is the more popular search result than the band itself. This may be for the fact that In The Name of Chaos is only their second full-length. While not defining their genre or seeming to be pushing the limits, In The Name of Chaos turns out to be a very competent release and leaves you wondering what this five man band will turn out in the future.
In The Name of Chaos is not pushing the envelope, it's a more traditional, bare-bones style of death metal, with modern production and effects. The songs are generally well written, and although they remain short in length, they leave a firm impact after enduring the brute coercion of their crushing barrage. If the eight string bass does not impress you, the remarkable guitar solos will. There are many solos incorporated throughout, they are nimble, decisive and carry a proficient charm to them. Some of the riff work tends to get dizzying, but it's all rounded out by the consistent drilling of the double bass and drum work. When each instrument is analyzed, not one is held to a lower standard, which is refreshing when consuming the entire album as a whole and being able to appreciate each segment equally.
An area that seems to be lacking would be the drums. The fills are good, and there are some complex transitions that could stimulate any drummer, but overall, the formula remains basic. I'm sure this is contributed by the more bare-bones style of death metal Omophagia is going for, but I believe there could be more variation than this tried and true approach that fades fairly quickly to the listener as a result of its stagnant approach.
The album art work I feel is uncharacteristic of the band's music. It looks like it would fit well on a nu-metal release better. Similar to lyrics, album art work doesn't carry much weight in my book when judging death metal.
The album feels short, and it's only around 39 minutes total, but still has a lot of character to it. I feel some of the songs could be morphed into more epic passages, building substantial chapters of brutal harmony and creative riffs. Omophagia is still young, though. This is only their second release, and with the talent and consistent tone and mood they have already mastered and established, I expect great things to come in the future. The speed in each track is a solid trade mark, but when they grow, I hope they infuse more flexibility into their song structure, while still staying true to their sound and roots.
Over all, I was pleasantly surprised. A solid sophomore release with enough good meat to get excited about future releases. With minor adjustments and nature growth, I think we could be surprised with a winner next time around.
Score: 7/10
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