Finland's Omnium Gatherum are back with their third release Stuck Here On a Snakes Way, a solid if somewhat unspectacular melodic death metal album with a splashing of prog here and there for good measure. As far as the music goes, there's lots to like and sink your teeth into here, as these Fins know how to come up with some tasty guitar riffs and add in some intricate solos, even splashing around some ethereal keyboards for some added texture. Tunes like "Into Sea", "Undertaker", "The Third Flame", "In Sane World", and "Spiritual" contain just enough brutality, just enough melody, and the right amount of complexity to keep things interesting, and the band even throws in a proggy number here and there, like "Just Sign", to show they know how to write more than just super-charged melodic death metal songs. Problem is, while this is all solid stuff, we've heard this all before and better by the likes of In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Amon Amarth, Nightrage, Amorphis, Insomnium, and the like. In addition, new singer Jukka Pelkonen has a voice that can sort of grate on you after a while, as he rarely changes from the one type of growl he knows, adding an element of monotony that unfortunately hampers some of these otherwise fine tunes. Another thing is that many of the songs are fairly short, in the 2-4 minute range, so don't expect a lot of experimentation or stretching out here.
So, if you don't mind thrashy, somewhat proggy melo-death that doesn't carry much originality, chances are you'll dig Stuck Here On Snakes Way quite a bit. It's a pretty strong effort no matter what way you look at it, and I sense that with all the talent this band seems to have, there's more good stuff coming from them in the years ahead that will really show what they are capable of.
Track Listing
1. Snake and the Way
2. Into Sea
3. Dysnomia
4. A-Part of God
5. Undertaker
6. Bastard-O
7. Third Flame
8. Just Signs
9. Truth
10. Drudgery
11. In Sane World
12. Spiritual
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