Flesh on Your Bones

Flesh On Your Bones is more or less a direct continuation of the debut's style, although perhaps a bit blunter and more centrally thrash-oriented. They still bust out some of those precise, surgical harmonies in spots, and the production of the rhythm guitars still has that punch to it that sends them right past your defenses, but I don't know that the songs here had quite the same strength as their predecessors. That said, Flesh On Your Bones is a solid sophomore which I can revisit often enough without any tangible disappointment, because it keeps on mission and remains as professional and driven as the debut. Alright, the one real exception might be the cover art, which is some bland digital looking image of skeletons in a sandstorm or something, but I mean unless you're going to hire the same artist or another legend, what can ya do?

This is definitely an elbow greaser, dependable with lots of headbanging tracks even where the rhythm guitars don't spit out as many of the starker melodies to fetch your attention. They still exist, but they tend to be more compact or peripheral, and they instead flex between the thrashing low end thrust to some more atmospheric, open phrases as in the midst of "Revolution". The lead guitars are sill very well written, and I actually feel the drums here a bit more intense and thunderous than they were on The Creation. It's just an album that hangs down in that lower end more often as a rule. Some clean vocals are attempted which didn't really fire me up, but they were at least competent and confident and made as much sense as they could with the band taking a little risk or two. A lot of the album is so clinically thrashy that it almost reminds me of a Slaughter of the Soul infused with some of the Pestilence debut, Mallevs Maleficarvm, perhaps an obscure comparison but a lethal one I feel in tunes like "Angel Killers".

As I said with The Creation, this is a very good band, even if a bit derivative, and while I don't think they took this style to the new levels that Soilwork and Darkane did, their albums were and remain fun to listen through, and definitely a memorable name to sound off whenever I meet someone who is looking for more in this Swedish melodic death/thrash niche. They were built to last, and though they only endured a fairly short career, they never gave themselves the chance to burn out. Check out both albums and hear it done right.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Sins Of Omission was one of the many bands that members of A Canorous Quintet joined after the group split up in late 1990's. Though the amount of acts these guys joined seemed countless, they were all quite good; Sins Of Omission was no exception. The golden nugget produced on the band's debut was a treat for those who bothered hearing it, but it sadly was the first of two albums made by this fine group; the other is why we are here today.

The grasping meadow of Gothenburg was always around this band, but they decided to add other spices into the mix toward the end of their days. Sins Of Omission progressed to a firm style of liberated melodic death with several influences ranging from quasi-thrash to classic traditional metal on their final release: "Flesh On Your Bones." A large section of the material here breaches new ground with these different surroundings and the melodic death centerpoint; the outcome is a creative approach to Sins Of Omission's original metallic style with detailed imprints of atypical substances and nonstandard sounds.

There is a lapse of melodic tendencies in the riffs when comparing this record to Sins Of Omission's first release, yet the shredding style sounds matured and progressed with slight touches of thrash, groove, and, of course, melody. This observation becomes clear within the opening seconds of "The Secret Agenda" when a groovish-melodic riff welcomes the listener to album's opening phase. Riffs similar to the one found on "The Secret Agenda" seem to pop up in frequent stages throughout this record and that shows the band has clearly evolved from their original sound. Strong thrash riffing and mild traditional metal chops are also presented in various parts of this LP; most noticeably "Pound For Pound," "Revolution" and "The Rape." The rest of this CD is the rooted establishment of melodic death riffs that this band was formed upon. The only questionable feature of this LP is the percussion, which is basically predictable patterns with mediocre drum fills, but everything else wins my stamp of approval.

Known for his work in A Canorous Quintet, Marten Hansen joined this Swedish outfit with a familiar atmosphere and sound because of his previous experience in the melodic death field. Hansen's growls are fantastic attributes to this LP; his grunts sound clear and fit into Sins Of Omission's style of melodic death like the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Not only that, but he can sing too. Hansen shows off his amazing singing voice during "The Secret Agenda" and "The Rape" with cunning ease and flawless professionalism. Don't expect anything less than wonderful vocals if you give this one a listen.

"Flesh On Your Bones" was a fine way for Sins Of Omission to check out of activity. I really enjoy this album for many reasons, but I think the consistent nature of this LP is what makes it such a satisfying listen. You should definitely try to pick this one up if you're a melodic death whore like me.