Lich King - The Omniclasm: Album Review

Lich King's newest release has finally arrived; was it worth the wait?
Of course it was.


If you know me at all, you know that Lich King is one of those bands that I just gush about. I may be biased, but I'm still honest. I'm here to dissect Lich King's newest release and see if it can live up to the hype of their previous accomplishment, Born of The Bomb.

The first thing to know about The Omniclasm is that the mixing on this thing is just perfect. The band's drummer, Brian Westbrook, acts as the band's sound engineer and the production values he brought on Born of the Bomb returns on The Omniclasm. Each instrument is very distinct. The guitars have a fantastic amount of weight to them, with have note having a very satisfying crunch, while leaving room for the more intricate solos and riffs to breathe. Brian's drums are just as on point, crashing and pounding away, while the bass sounds as thick and gnarly as it ever has. Basically, The Omniclasm has the same amazing mix as Born of The Bomb.

On the musical side of things, Lich King delivers their form of thrash metal with the precision of a sniper. Lich King's crossover thrash has always been a favorite of mine, leaning towards the chunky, fast 90s era of thrash, with a hefty dash of punk. That, coupled with songwriter Tom Martin's motto of "never stop writing riffs", means that each song delivers a very dense experience. The songs do, however, manage to be dense and complex without being exhausting. Each song breaks up the flow of the album well enough that you'll never feel like you need a break between songs. Which is saying something considering how much Lich King seems to be pushing themselves on this album.

The Omniclasm goes out of its way to speed itself up and change the dynamic of Lich King's material just enough to remain fresh, while still retaining the band's signature style. The intro "Weapons Hot" gets things off and running with nice dose of punky speed, followed by the jaw dropping opener "Lich King V: Stalemate". "Preschool Cesspool" returns with that punky fun, and the latter half of the album delivers "Take The Paycheck" and "Offense", tracks that go more for lyrical content and catchy riffs over a certain style of punk or thrash. Martin's singing style has notably been changed up. Normally known for his higher screams, Martin goes for a deeper, angrier tone on this album. It adds to the overall aggressive tone of the album, and when pushed to his limits, Marin's singing becomes the saltiest, most cynical thing I've heard in years. It's an album that simply doesn't stop delivering stomping riffs, funny and insightful (or cynical) lyrics, and an overall sense of fun and excitement. Just what Lich King has delivered for years.

While I more than enjoyed my time with The Omniclasm, I couldn't escape this feeling of familiarity. Yes, Lich King have previewed and demoed some of these tracks before (though I would argue the new mixing revitalizes the songs I've heard dozens of times over) but what really sticks out to me is how Lich King have seemed to settle into a formula. "Take The Paycheck", "Offense" and "Lich King VI" all deliver on Lich King's signature style so perfectly, that it can be hard to get excited about them when the tracks on Born of The Bomb achieved the exact same effect. Sure, "it's just as good as Born of The Bomb" is certainly a plus in my book, but I wouldn't have complained if Lich King went out of their way to write an entire album with more diverse material. The track "Civilization" was certainly a hint of this, dipping into stoner/doom metal territory and while it's not my favorite track on the LP, Lich King show they at least try to make themselves stretch out their sound.

The Omniclasm stumbles a bit as Lich King settles into a familiar formula, but to retain such a level of quality after all this time is downright staggering. If for some reason you don't already enjoy Lich King, there isn't anything here that will convince you otherwise, but at this point, if you're still not on board, I don't think there is any hope for you.

9/10