Hungry for some modern melodic death metal with ridiculously catchy pop influences? Well, your dinner has just been served. This steaming nine-course setting is called “Origin” and it is honoringly brought into the table by the renowned Finnish heavy metal band Omnium Gatherum.
Omnium Gatherum – OG for close friends – has been offering remarkable pieces of melodic death metal for already twenty- five shining years. While storming through these ferocious decades, Omnium Gatherum has convinced worldwide legions of heavy metal lovers by releasing unstoppable musical onslaughts and touring relentlessly all over the world.
“Any sort of popularity hasn’t come overnight for OG, and rising to that “next level” has sometimes taken a considerably long time, but one thing has been set in stone: progress has been inevitable. In other words: a lot of great things have happened along the way but the journey hasn’t been the easiest one”, says longtime singer Jukka Pelkonen.
… And recent times are no exception. Contrary to what you might think, we are not talking about a global scourge that gripped the entire world about a year and a half ago.
“Although most of the things around “Origin” have been really good – we have never had so much time to compose and sharpen the material for instance –, there have been some serious roadblocks as well. This, of course, has not come as a big surprise as OG was not born under the happiest stars”, laughs guitarist extraordinaire and the band founder Markus Vanhala.
“Above all, our dear fans should know that since the previous studio effort “The Burning Cold” (2018), half of the band’s line- up has changed. I would say quite surprisingly as we haven’t really had any major problems, at least to my knowledge.”
“This internal turmoil lifted dark clouds into the band’s vast sky and everything was falling apart… well, for a few hours at least. After that, as many times before, we decided to turn these difficulties into something better!”
Before the arrival of “Origin”, Omnium Gatherum’s colourful discography features eight studio albums, but the newcomer does not pale in comparison. The truth is, in fact, quite the opposite… By the stylish, majestic and melodic splendor of “Origin”, it really feels like the band’s original style called AORDM – adult oriented death metal – has reached its peak. Well, so far…
“Over the years, OG’s material has been deliberately moving further away from the anxiety of the windy Northern shores and traditional melodeath’s gloomy despair. These days our music is a powerful mixture of older deadly roots and newer AOR-vibes that you get while listening to Survivor and driving a Corvette along the sunny shores of Miami!”
As “Origin” was taking some serious shape, Omnium Gatherum’s line-up was completed by the addition of renowned musicians Mikko Kivistö (bass) and Atte Pesonen (drums). In terms of guitar parts – both majestic riffs and tasteful soloing –, Markus Vanhala took good care of them all. And for the first time ever, the guitarist sang a large part of the album’s clean parts as well.
“I’ve recently heard strange rumors that the guitar is out of date as an instrument… So as a stubborn and old-fashioned bloke, I have played guitar a lot more than for many years. And those vocal parts? I just decided to learn some singing”, laughs Vanhala.
For the actual recording sessions, Omnium Gatherum entered Helsinki’s famous Sonic Pump Studios (Amorphis, Wintersun, Stratovarius).
“Well, it has been a while… “Origin” remains as the first album since “Years In Waste” (2004) that we immortalized inside Sonic Pump. Our latest sonic assault was recorded by the world-class engineers Nino Laurenne and JC Halttunen. It was absolutely wonderful to work with these meritorious gentlemen”, sighs Pelkonen.
“After the recordings, “Origin” was mixed by Swedish master of heavier sounds Jens Bogren. When the work was carefully crafted, Jens gave us a gratifying comment: “Releasing an album full of great songs is not easy these days… But you guys have achieved that goal with “Origin” – there simply are no fillers!”, recounts Vanhala.
“Before the mixing began, we actually instructed Jens that we really don’t want a modern metal sound, but “Origin” should turn out to be like a melodic death metal version of Def Leppard’s classic “Hysteria”. And when we started getting the mixes, huge smiles spread across our faces… Jens and mastering engineer Tony Lindgren nailed the sonic goals perfectly!”
Let’s still take a look at one side of the new album… “Origin” is a strong title and it can refer to many different things. What do you mean by the record’s title?
“If you don’t mind, I could crawl into the meaning of “Origin” by telling something about the album’s entire lyrical concept”, insists Pelkonen.
“So the album’s diverse lyrics make a winding journey into the human’s mind – somewhere deep where “depth” and “height” meet – and with the help of these songs, I am trying to uncover some of the mysteries of a person’s inner self. So, after all, the title of the album comes from these studies of the origins of the mind.”
“On the other hand, “Origin” also refers to the fact that no matter how many challenges and obstacles come in front of us, we will not forget the original enthusiasm for playing heavy metal… And therefore we will never give up!”
OMNIUM GATHERUM are:
Jukka Pelkonen – vocals
Markus Vanhala – guitars and clean vocals
Aapo Koivisto – keyboards
Mikko Kivistö – bass and clean vocals
Atte Pesonen – drums
