theOmniclasm
Release Date: April 14, 2017

Artist: Lich King

Runtime: 43 Minutes

Label: Independent

Producer: Lich King

Personnel: Tom Martin(vocals), Nick Timney (lead guitar), Brian Westbrook (drums), Mike Dreher (bass) Joe Nickerson (rhythm guitar)

Purchase The Omniclasm via Amazon.

Think a hybrid of Anthrax with Tom Arraya’s voice. That’s the closest thing that I could compare this album to when I first heard it. Upon doing research on Lich King, I discovered that indeed Anthrax, Slayer, S.O.D., and Exodus were among many of the band’s influences. Once you hear the opening song, you’ll know quickly who these guys are trying to emulate. Interestingly, Lich King makes no qualms about what they’re trying to do. Rather than coming up with a new sound, they believe that the 80’s had the best metal music, so their intent is to replicate that sound but with their material. They claim what makes them different from similar bands is that they readily admit that they’re trying to duplicate the 80’s thrash sound rather than keeping that unspoken.

Despite the album’s thrashy sound, the sound production is not great and is definitely sub par for current standards. Considering The Omniclasm is Lich King’s best-produced album to date, low production seems to be a recurring theme with the band. A good comparison that I found was Anthrax’s Among the Living, which was recorded in 1987…30 years ago! It’s okay to have your sound compared to a metal masterpiece, just not your sound quality. Because of the poor production, Martin’s vocals were at times hard to understand, and sometimes just seemed to get lost in the noise. That’s too bad considering the lyrics here are cheesy gold.

Although the album’s production was lackluster, the music and song selections were not so I’d like to share with you a few highlights from The Omniclasm!

☆☆☆☆

“Preschool Cesspool” shows just how horrible having kids can be since they don’t clean up after themselves and just spread diseases. Those pesky little parasites.

I used to have fun
I used to have friends, but
Now I don’t have anything in my life
But the unceasing march of time
Everyone I know is a parent too
And their kids suck as much as mine

This track is great satire and a load of fun.

“Cut the Shit” laments the current, heavy metal scene, and just wants the scene to get back to the basics. It seems that long gone are the days where bands have to do their time performing in garages, nightclubs, and dives, slowly working their way to recognition. Lich King reveals their reason for their even existing in the song as they are attempting to neither add nor take away anything from the 80’s metal sound. They nailed it…

“Too Damn Short”, a humorous track for sure, is something that could fit in with Slayer’s Undisputed Attitude quite well, and shows the band’s humor considering the track length is only 1:14.

“Our Time to Riot” is an instant classic in my opinion. Lyrically, this is a Dave Mustaine special. The song rails against “The System”, and how it keeps the working man at a disadvantage. The corporate billionaires control the world and pull the strings of their marionettes as they do their bidding. What they don’t realize however, is that the working man realizes his current situation as he pays bills while having ills and swallowing pills. Now, that the working class understands that something must be done, they believe it is time to riot! Musically, this song has all the elements that an avid thrash lover wants. There’s plenty of tempo provided by drummer Brian Westbrook and frantic guitar play throughout by Timney and Nickerson. To complete the sound is Dreher’s outstanding, ever-present bass, and the high-pitched screams from Martin. Not only is the speed cranked up and the guitar solos just superb, the changes of pace throughout are impressive. I know numerous bands can do what Lich King does on this song, but not many do anymore, which makes this a classic in my book.

☆☆☆☆

Overall, The Omniclasm was a heaping pile of fun to listen to and review, and I hope you enjoyed the review as much as I had writing it!

I’m going to give The Omniclasm an 81%.