Where did this come from? Bad Omens – once a generic Bring Me the Horizon wannabe band – are set to drop their most ambitious album to date on February 24^th; and they are poised to make, dare I say, the best core album in a very long time – if we’re judging The Death of Peace of Mind on its current string of singles. The eclectic spray of styles from this album’s line-up of promotional tracks is both eye-bulgingly impressive and exhilarating to behold. Not only is Noah taking his vocal capabilities to unprecedented levels, the band are taking their talents to new and exciting pastures. This is coming from someone who rolls his eyes at the flaccid state of metalcore, and generally avoids the style like the plague at this point. Nevertheless, I can’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming excitement for this album’s potential and the good it will bring the genre as a whole if they pull it off.

Ironically, this is probably not the best single to showcase on the Sputnik Singles series, as I would consider it to be their weakest track from the four singles released thus far, showcasing the most derivative qualities of the band. However, with all of that said, “Like a Villain” still manages to be a bloody good song in its own right. I would concede that “Like a Villain” rides dangerously close to a BMTH track from the Sempiternal era, but I still think there’s enough of a distinction here to make it the band’s own thing. On the whole the track is approached elementally, with an extremely basic instrumental structure driving the heart of the track. It has an alt-rock energy that opens up with rumbling bass and a tight, pounding drum beat, with the guitar interspersing bite-sized chugs to add flavour. However, the memorability comes from Noah’s melodies and how he approaches the vocals for the track: from wispy croons and big ear-pleasing melodies, to a peppering of tasteful screams, Noah narrates the piece to disperse engaging peaks and troughs, mitigating any ennui from the instrumentals’ blunt modesty.

The Death of Peace of Mind is going to be a large album, resting tall at fifteen tracks, so it’ll be interesting to see if the album can maintain the blistering momentum its singles have displayed, but at the minute this album is definitely locked in to be one to check out next month. While “Like a Villain” may lack the same urgency for adventure its preceding tracks have, it’s still a great track that continues to well up the hype for its imminent release.

Score: 4/5

Sputnik Singles Chart:

1. Muse – “Won’t Stand Down” (User Avg 2.6)
2. Avril Lavigne – “Bite Me” (User Avg 2.3)