Review Summary: A sweetly depressing doom metal masterpiece
I like the sad and depressing music, the very emotional and moody ***, which is a big reason why I liked doom metal so much. And Omit's debut "Repose" is the epitome of everything that defines doom metal. Like the album cover. It perfectly exemplifies the entire album's atmosphere; a melancholic and moody scene of an empty valley under a gray sky and blanketed in a very, very thick fog. Perfect first impression a doom album that masterfully displays a portrait of dark and moody that genuinely feels depressing, gloomy and even suicidal, creating one of the best doom releases that I've heard in a long, long time.
It is heavy, it is moody, it is atmospheric, (very atmospheric) and actually pretty fresh. See, technically, the music is pretty straightforward doom metal. Very thick, and distorted guitars, slow, brooding and heavy drum work, deeply saddened female soprano vocals and all sprinkled with violins and cellos that pop up from time to time. In short, the musical style is not terribly original or overly complex. And yet the way it's all put together, constructed and executed manages to set it apart from the pack and be its own sound, despite its simplicity. This has a lot to do with the atmosphere. There is a clear heavy influence of ambient music here, so the band doesn't rely solely on the musical aspect of itself and equally focusses on the overall emotional feel of the album. And the atmosphere that is attempted is created in a very well done manner. Everything plays off each other so well to create this complete wall of sadness that in no way feels forced, like they're trying to create this atmosphere as an attempt to conform to genre's standards but instead feels completely natural.
But even with this bleak and hopeless veil, the album is actually really beautiful. It's very serene and peaceful and because it doesn't have a whole lot going, technically, it's not overly complex and something you can just sit down and listen to and still experience all it has to offer.
I have to say that one aspect that stuck out to me were the vocals, and they are fantastic. Cecilie Langlie voice is incredible, she has great range, she's really able to hit and keep those high notes, and they sound very sad and mournful. Very beautiful voice, she really carries a lot of what the album so great.
Now when it comes to negative points for this, for me there is not a whole lot to speak of. I do have a few minor issues that might be worth mentioning. Mainly the production, which isn't great. I mean its not terrible, but at times the music gets a little too drowned out, mainly in the guitars which are not always that audible. Another issue that, while not a personal complaint, it will undoubtedly turn some people off and therefor I will bring it up and that is the time length. This is a very long undertaking, the album as a whole clocks in at about an hour and a half and with each of the five songs, the longest is about 25 minutes while the shortest is about 14 minutes. So like The Smashing Pumpkin's "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" this is a big album and takes a bit of endurance to listen to.
For most doom fans, I would say this a definite must listen. Despite its length, its well worth your time, very emotional and very beautiful, I would even say its probably my favorite doom metal album period. Very highly recommended.
