Bad Omens

 


Bad Omens was released in 2016.

Track Listing:
1. Glass Houses
2. Exit Wounds
3. The Worst in Me
4. F E R A L
5. Enough, Enough Now
6. Malice
7. Hedonist
8. Broken Youth
9. Crawl
10. The Letdown
11. Reprise (The Sound of the End)
12. The Fountain

Genre: Metalcore

Bad Omens debut album starts off strong.  One of the things I love about them is their album art work.  This one is a haunting image of a women draped in a red cloth.  It fits the mood of the album well.

Right off the bat they're showing what they're about.  Heavy guitars, some cleans, vicious lyrics and plenty of electronics.  Their self titled is as heavy as they get.

The lyrics here are big standout (as they always are with Bad Omens).  Noah writes very personal lyrics that deal with his mental struggles and overcoming difficult obstacles.  Exit Wounds is about leaving his last band who he clearly has some bad blood with.  Worst in Me is about a toxic relationship.  They're a little weaker on this album than the next couple, but the messaging is still song.

We also still haven't gotten the quiet, vulnerable sound they're going to be known for in a few years.  We see touches of it on songs like The Worst in Me, and Enough, Enough Now, but the songs here tend to be more anthemic that they are later.  Same with the screams.  Noah's screams here are much more raspy, and not in a good way.  He sounds like he's struggling at some points in a way you don't hear in later albums.

They haven't quite refined their sound yet, but the result is still very good.  For a debut album this is great.  They've taken risks and put their struggles on display here.  You can feel the pain in these songs.  Listen to the outro to Enough, Enough Now, its moments like this that make the band special.

Unfortunately, the weakest points of the album are the ones where they go the hardest.  Malice is okay, but just a bit generic, kind of feels like a metalcore song anyone could write.  Same thing with Hedonist and most of Broken Youth.  They're well executed, but just feel much less impactful than songs like Exit Wounds or The Fountain.

So with 4 green and 1 red, Bad Omens starts out strong.  A lot of my complaints here are things they clean up on Finding God, but I dont own that one yet.

3.5/5

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