OMEGASHIFT – Doctrine of Dust

Now what we have here is something exciting and potent from the Norwegian underground. Omegashift were kind enough to mail me a digital copy of this 5-track opus of theirs entitled Doctrine of Dust about a week ago, and I have been thoroughly enjoying listening to it ever since.

With its raw edge and analogue aura, this record is an interesting mixture of stoner rock, doom metal (the emphasis is on that one), classic heavy metal, and arguably also semi-progressive rock. Actually, the band mentioned the phrase “Metallic Doom Rock” somewhere and that is a most apt and fitting description. There is a pervading sense of melancholy and gloom to its suitably long, dynamic, and sprawling compositions, and those fuzz-driven riffs and hazy atmospheres that move in and out of the musical framework are splendid. Did you say crushing passages? Trust me, there are some muscular parts here that will thrill you to bits (check the ominous ‘Fatherland’ out) and the vocals courtesy of Jorunn Aateigen are arrestingly graceful in places. Also, there is an elegance and sophistication to her impassioned delivery in ‘Lazarus Brigade’, ‘Echoes of Mercy’, and closing track ‘Tread the Ashes’ that infuses them with a sense of drama and passion. ‘Walk with Me’ fails to retain the spark and momentum of the EP in that it lacks climax and direction not to mention that the vocals seem weirdly incompatible with the riffs here, but it is by no means an awful tune and it contains some killer bass lines.

Doctrine of Dust is an inspired and inspiring piece of work that harbors promise and potential, and the future bodes very well for this constellation of musicians should they decide to churn out more stuff like this down the road. It is not the tightest or most confident thing that I have come across this year, but I am telling you that if vibrant, melodically strong, and organic-sounding doom metal with a cool twist to it is your thing then you simply need to head on over to the group’s Bandcamp profile in order to check this EP out. Fingers crossed that a CD or vinyl version will see the light of day in the future.