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Old Man's Child: Vermin
 Melodic black/death metal doesn't get much better than this folks. Led by Galder (Dimmu Borgir) on vocals, guitars, bass, & keyboards, and Reno Killerich (ex-Dimmu Borgir, Vile, Exmortem) on drums, Old Man's Child create huge symphonic metal soundscapes littered with powerhouse drum work, violent guitar riffsk, loads of progressive keyboards, and strong throaty growls. Call it Nordic metal, call it black metal, the bottom line is that this is some ass kicking but sophisticated stuff. Fans of Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth will drool over tracks like the orchestral metal of "The Plague of Sorrow" and the maniacal stomp of "The Flames of Deceit", two extreme metal feasts. The recording, done at Studio Fredman (Opeth, Dark Tranquility), has resulted in a stellar audio production, as the guitars have the right amount of crunch, the keyboards jump right out of the mix, the rhythms crystal clear, and Galder's vocals menacing yet decipherable. Fans of Children of Bodom will love the lead guitar & keyboard interplay on the rampaging "War of Fidelity", and the intricate & tasty lead axe work on the orchestral "In Torment's Orbit".
Although Old Man's Child has been around for a few years and have released a half dozen albums, they always seem to off the radar of most extreme metal fans. I'm thinking Vermin could change all of that, and quick. This is killer stuff-check it out.
Track Listing
1. Enslaved and Condemned
2. The Plague of Sorrow
3. War of Fidelity
4. In Torment's Orbit
5. Lord of Command (Bringer of Hate)
6. The Flames of Deceit
7. Black Marvels of Death
8. Twilight Damnation
9. ...As Evil Descends
Added: February 20th 2006
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score: 
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 4108
Language: english
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Old Man's Child: Vermin
Posted by Ken Pierce, SoT Staff Writer on 2006-02-20 15:27:52
My Score:
Old Man's Child has been around for a number of years and yet for some reason never seems to be in the limelight that is afforded some of their peers in Black Metal. It's a surprising fact when one considers that Dimmu Borgir's own Galder is the key force behind the group and brings to the table a brutal yet highly melodic piece of music. In the past, Old Man's Child has had a number of talented people in its lineup but with Vermin the band only finds Galder doing vocals and all instruments, while Reno Killerich handles the drumming. I admit being unfamiliar with the sound of the band before this release and felt it had a lot of the styles demonstrated on Dimmu Borgir's Death Cult Armageddon. The main difference between the two is that OMC leans more to the Melodic Metal end while DB maintains a steady growth in the area of Symphonic Metal. I have to say that Galder does a great job of the guttural growling necessary to be the vocalist in this group and can surely hold his own against that of Shagrath or Nergal (Behemoth). The band has been on a hiatus since Galder joined Dimmu Borgir back in 2000 and I feel the influences of the years of playing with them have affected this release in a highly positive fashion. It has that in your face power and I feel songs like "The Flames Of Deceit" and "Twilight Damnation" really showcase the level of creativity that Galder possesses as a composer/performer. Honestly, I was able to sit through the whole album and for a first time listener this appealed to me. It was great to have this album come out in the absence of new Dimmu material. With Shagrath and Silenoz re-working the classic Stormblast, this allowed Galder to focus his creative energies to give something special to the fans of Old Man's Child, and Melodic Black Metal in general. Galder has elected to change the way this music is perceived and change for the better, it would seem.
I found this record to be outstanding and given the development happening in Melodic and Progressive levels of Black/Death Metal, this fits well. I feel those fans that are interested in seeing the bar raised on the genre and supporting Hypocrisy and Dimmu Borgir will definitely take to what is being done on this album. Set your sights on this, as you will be suitably impressed.
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