ALBUM REVIEW: Omens – Desert Storm

There are plenty of bands that simply do not get the recognition that they deserve. One of those is the United Kingdom’s DESERT STORM who have been honing their craft since their inception thirteen years ago. The band have managed to accrue a decent following and have managed to secure themselves opening slots for some of the sludge and doom scenes heaviest hitters and have released four previous albums that have leapt forward creatively consistently. Now in 2020 with the world going through unprecedented hardship and abnormality DESERT STORM have stepped up to the plate with a slice of heavy metal in Omens that will find a lot of people escaping to for a very welcome distraction.

From the very first notes of Black Bible the band display their pension for writing weighty, infectious riffs. The fullness in the sound of Elliot Cole’s drum kit and rumbling bass guitar from Chris Benoist create a superb launch bad for the heavily distorted guitars of Chris White and Ryan Cole along with Matt Ryan’s rough and ready vocal delivery. The subtle guitar leads and gravelly singing in the chorus provide a perfect contrast between the dirge of the instrumental tone and a wonderful sense of melody that has always been equally at the forefront of the band’s writing style.

A clear sign of well thought out writing is the ability to make long running songs seem as though they have ailed by and this is something that DESERT STORM have well and truly mastered. The dark, claustrophobic soundscape created on the track Vengeful Gods has a groove that is undeniable and the vocal harmonies are incredibly effective, once again displaying the groups ability to juggle crushing heaviness and soaring melodies in a single song. The ominous haunting interlude and spoken word passage in this song shows a tremendous flair for the dramatic which is something that is all to commonly missed by many bands of a similar ilk.

In the back end of Omens the track The Machine sees DESERT STORM embracing influences such as GODFLESH and CROWBAR with the unbridled power found within the half time stodginess of the riffs and tar-thick bass lines. This song is one of the best vocal performances from Ryan on the entire release with the lower register and rasp to his voice providing a treat and showing where the majority of the aforementioned GODFLESH comparison is garnered from.

Lockjaw provides another highlight with the layered harsh vocals sounding purely evil before giving way to a hook that is as catchy as you would hope to hear anywhere. This has to be one of the most unlikely ear worms you are likely to hear given then setting. This is another reason why DESERT STORM are the kind of band that deserve far more attention than they get with the amount of ground that they manage to cover of the space of a single release without ever having the feeling that things are becoming disjointed and don’t meld together as they should.

The album closer shows the group adding yet another string to their already heaving bow. The acoustic guitars have a folk tinge to them and the Ryan‘s voice is simply transcendent as it floats over the top in a way that isn’t to dissimilar to OPETH’s Mikael Åkerfeldt. This song in particular is incredibly exciting as it shows exactly what DESERT STORM are capable of down the line, it all simply depends on how far they are prepared to venture down this particular creative avenue when they are so gifted in their current wheelhouse of sludgey, groove-heavy metal.

Omens is a superb effort from a group that continues to grow in stature and creative bravery on every release. These boys will certainly be ones to watch out for when the world returns to some form of normality and the dust settles.

Rating: 8/10

Omens is out now via APF Records.

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