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Anomalous: OHMnivalent

23/11/12 || The Duff

It’s very rare I come across a tech death album that has me in from the start. Psycroptic and Gorod are clearly too groovey to ignore, and Anata too musically inclined to not be recognized as genii, but when it comes to full throttle tech death, the only album I’ve ever persevered with is Spawn of Possession’s “Noctambulant” because of that feeling I’d be missing out if I didn’t. All other albums have been a case of putting aside until they click some half a year down the line. Anomalous’ “OHMnivalent” has had the same effect on me as Spawn of Possession’s masterpiece, but the payback isn’t nearly on par.

Anomalous have released but one E.P. (in 2006) since their formation other than this full-length, and that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest; it would take dedication most can only dream of to compose something of this magnitude.

Musically, the record boasts Cynic prog death, Cynic prog prog, Cynic prog jazz; we also have hints of real death metal, but this is where I get a little lost – the death metal doesn’t have much of a value on “OHMnivalent”, it’s like Psycroptic’s haywire speed tremolo riffs without the groove. They simply appear to be there to accentuate the album’s main ingredient, the djent and the real pretty lead work. Although I’m sure everything is supposed to blend in to equal measure, and while structurally the album is a masterwork of flow, it’s the djent riffs I’m listening out for the most because they’re the only thing that grooves. Cynic is boring unless its Cynic, and so we’re left with Meshuggah-castoffs which can be fun but unfulfilling.

The album doesn’t really have repeating themes on a track by track basis. There are exceptions, but generally the album shifts from riff to riff, very expertly, most of which are backdrops to insanely technical and various shred techniques. Then of course we have lead guitar playing which can only come from hours of practice. The skill is definitely there, but there’s little true character, some feel but not of the most calibrated kind and really is the equivalent to spurting wads of technique at the listener with no thought to the taste. No kiwis in the diet, so to speak.

Yes, the musicianship is astounding. Most difficult of all must be the role of Marco Pitruzella who has played in Brain Drill and Neurogenic to name a few; the undertaking in learning so many stops and starts must have been a daunting one to say the least. The vocalist is nondescript, except occasionally he hits us with a mix of Tomas Haake, Bret Hoffman and SYL Devin Townsend to sound futuristic and tortured, and it works spectacularly; otherwise, quite traditionally deranged-sounding barking. The guitars and bass, as you can gather if you’re going to play a more aggro take of Animals as Leaders and Vildhjarta, is off the charts technical, mixing heavy, rhythmic and discordant, jazzy and soothing, heartfelt in one very professional blend that on first listen might come across as jarring and jumbled, but in the end does pay off as an eclectic, colourful masterwork, simply of a more trendy, less engaging style of metal.

8,5

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Brutal Bands
Website: Anomalous MySpace
Band
Tim Hale: vocals
Max Seeman: guitars, bass
Nate Vennarucci: guitars, bass
Marco Pitruzzella: drums

Tracklist
01. Premateria (A Fire Birth)
02. The Seraphim Veil
03. Bicruciforms: The Eternal Return
04. Ohmnivalent
05. Mitosis
06. Panacea
07. Hypnagogue
08. Demiurge
09. Binary Resurrection

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