Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Bad Omens - The Death of Peace of Mind (2022)
I would normally file a band like Bad Omens under ‘none of my business’. Yeah, I know that closed-minded attitude is not the ethos that MA is built upon, but it is an important reference point for this album. Coming from The Revolution clan of old, Bad Omens occupy a not altogether incorrect space in The Gateway with their third release. Still very clearly embedded in their metalcore roots (a major strength in their armoury it is worth mentioning on an album that goes to places that are not in many ways related to metal at all), TDOPOM is much more than an album confined to one sub-genre, genre or indeed style of music.
What you get here is an emotionally taut album that sometimes comes at you trying to claw your eyes out, whilst on other occasions comes barring fists and then again sometimes weapons which it might not necessarily use on others. On more than one track though the album comes to you for a cry or a hug as well. As such it is an album that feels vibrant on almost every track; beyond just bouncy riffs screamed vocals though, even the electronic temperance of the synths and the glitchy beats that pepper the album in abundance have their own sense of tension just as much as any groovy riff or raging rhythm section. In creating this cacophony of styles and influences it strikes me that TDOPOM is incredibly well balanced. Unafraid to operate outside of the boundaries of their traditional territory, Bad Omens seem to gather more momentum the further away they go from their roots.
The dreamy/gazey pop sentiment of bad decisions could see the track land in any top ten of popular music releases on any given chart rundown. As someone who does not normally get drawn to these waters it is interesting to see a band so young (we are at album number three here let’s not forget) able to push different elements alongside more traditional ones that I personally am not entirely comfortable with. At the same time the album has enough breakdowns (or whatever the terminology is) and raw intensity to please the more extreme crowd. I can see how this may be too accessible for some but for me this accessibility is not at the expense of that emotional intensity that never falls into the territory of being over the top.
The anthemic choruses of Like A Villain, Just Pretend and CONCRETE JUNGLE are destined to be in my head for weeks yet but there is something about how they are written and structured that makes them interesting as well as contagiously memorable. In the more peaceful passages, I can liken proceedings to the likes of House of Heaven or Glaare (post-punk) and the groove metal edges to some of the riffs being deployed are straight out of the 90s to these ears. That is the variety on show here on what is one of my unique finds and most unexpected finds for a while.
Curved ball though it may be for me in terms of how much I do like this, it is not flawless. The record needs a trim and on a couple of occasions it flaunts itself as being something it is not. Who are you? is just a pop track that seems to be pushed as opposed to composed. Similarly, ARTIFICIAL SUICIDE just feels like something that they had to get off their chest as opposed to something that contributes anything of significance to the album overall. I find the songs are more interesting when they incorporate elements of everything in their repertoire as opposed to them always being able to stand up as separate entities that have exceeded known norms. I still maintain that this is a neat if not sought after find for me.