From an outsider’s perspective, Omen Ex Simulacra could be viewed as nothing more than a load of noise but to those of us who like their music with some meat, noise and aggression to it, this release from Ævangelist is like a dream come true.
The album is perfectly constructed, with six incredible songs sandwiched between two twelve-and-a-half minute epics that are full of atmospheric delights: for starters, opener Veils begins with a full three and a half minutes of eerie noises and instrumentation before the idea of the band joining in is even entertained! It’s great because it means you can really take everything in and get absorbed by the music before the full band kicks in.
The only real problem with Omen Ex Simulacra is the vocals. Whilst the vocals themselves are pretty damn good, the mix doesn’t quite do them justice and they often wound up drowned out by everything else going on in the album due to the constant barrage of pretty much everything coming at you! It’s a real shame because the album would have been perfect otherwise – the songs are absolutely faultless, so if the vocals were just that little bit louder it would have added so much more.
The highlight of the album has to be Prayer For Ascetic Misery. You’re instantly treated to a perfectly executed wall of noise and it feels like the whole band are coming right at you! The instrumentation in this one is phenomenal – the guitar riffs in the background are second-to-none and add a lot to the song despite the fact they’re not as “in-your-face” as other sections of the song. Everything about this song is magnificent and the abrupt end works really well – albeit leaving you wanting more!
Put simply, Omen Ex Simulacra is awesome. Maybe it won’t appeal to everyone, but Ævangelist know their audience well and this will be sure to please them because it’s an album you can keep revisiting and discover something new every time.
9/10
Check out a stream of the album below and make up your own mind!
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