Country of origin:Norway

Location:Oslo

Status:Active

Formed in:2009

 

Genre:Atmospheric/Funeral Doom Metal

Lyrical themes:Loss, Sadness, Tragedy

Current label:Secret Quarters

Years active:2009-present

Compilation appearances:
"Feel the Misery" on A Lake of Ghosts: The Long Shadow of My Dying Bride (Doom-metal.com, 2017)

EschatonOmega, April 26th, 2014

I like the sad and depressing music, the very emotional and moody shit, 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.

raveneyeslikemirrors, December 26th, 2013

In an era where the doom genre is now being defined by this post-70's rock revival and everyone clamors for new colored LP's of bands that mix doom metal aesthetics with the rock of Led Zepplin, Blue Oyster Cult, Blue Cheer, and the ever so present Black Sabbath... Omit announces itself as the last breath of the neo-romantic gothic doom of the early 90's. But this breath is not one of stale and pallid with the sense of imminent demise. No there is a new life in this breath! Something that clearly is of the current world but breathes life into that dessicated husk of the old 90's sound. Nay not a repeat of the tired formula but a spiritual sucessor and perhaps an awakening to life anew... at least for this band. Here is something truly fresh!

It is clear hearing this album that one of the biggest influences on Omit would be The 3rd and the Mortal. The pure and crystal clear bare doom chords with an organic sound decorated with ghostly female singing (sans male grunts) over the top is very much core to Omit and their fellow Norse doom lords, but Omit does not copy. Not at all. On Repose Omit cuts out the experimentalism that eventually took over The 3rd and the Mortal.. they sunk in a few synth lines and also added ghostly violins in every song in the best tradition of gothic doom. However, the presence of female lead vocals, synths, and violins are not of any sort of expected sound. Though they revere fellow old doom countrymen Sins of Thy Beloved and Theatre of Tragedy, do not expect the same dramatic pomp of said groups. If all the conventions of gothic metal turn you off, hang in there and listen closely.

Yes this is indeed gothic doom, but its output is not filled with lush arabesques of piano trills, flowery ostentatious symphonics, and weepy vocal drama. All the gothic elements here have been subdued immensely, But its not suffocated, rather.. its well... patient. The synths are modest but persistent and integral, and as clear as daylight. The violin crisp and heartfelt and played very slowly. The optimal word is organic. A genre known for its overbearing sound is here been calmed and instead gently serenades a funerary melody, No thats not quite it.. more like a song of a wake, of remembrance. Not mourning over the recently departed as they are buried, but instead walking on a snow-covered mountain path just contemplating all that has passed. This is like chamber music. I normally have a taste for the over-dramatic and the grotesquely overwrought in gothic and symphonic metal. And the subdued nature of Omit had me very unsure at first. But I have to admit... The goth here is modest but strong and very very (theres that word again) organic...

But I have left out one key thing. The one thing that sets Omit apart from their original masters in The 3rd and the Mortal. They take that sound and they extend it. Yes they extend that warm bare doom metal Into a vastness so wide that its like a shoreless sea. These songs are slow. Very slow, Clearly funeral doom pace (but without the deathmetal grittiness). You are open up to the air and can contemplate every note with great enjoyment. And the professional, elegant production... very reminiscent of post rock bands, is absolutely perfect for this aural space! This is music for patience.

I could imagine to some it could be a shock and something that could possibly blow over them, wear them out at its never-ending wandering. The mountain forest path has become much longer than expected. No song is under 14 minutes in length and even the double cd format here seems like not enough for this band's ability. A 40 minute song would be a breeze for Omit to compose. Despite all this, nowhere does it get so slow and sparse that absolutely nothing is there. Thank god! I can think of a few doom bands... *cough... Warning! *cough*.. that totally miss the mark on this.

..... Hmmm actually Warning fans may find a lot to enjoy here in fact. I can see a lot of similarities. Thats the best part about this band and what gives them life. Their production is very contemporary and new, taking a strong inspiration from the warm, stripped down sound of post rock/ metal bands working nowadays. This is their masterstroke. Omit has managed to make gothic doom relevant by adding this current working post-metal production and vastness, yet not giving into it and creating what essentially amounts to a metalized post rock song (Year of No Light im looking at you!) Omit is on its own little island there in the fjords up north with a totally fresh, original sound on many old and new ideas. Im very happy to see this band here, proving what I've always felt in my heart.. that gothic metal is not a stinking dry well and still has so so much more it could give if people would only take a look in hindsight at it!

Anyways. The final thing I would like to add is the band's lyrics and cover art. Thankfully, the lyrics remain this crypitc Classical-esque poetry that mirrors the tone of the music. Traditional romantic, but sparse and personal. A perfect blend. The artwork of the album is well, frankly the photos are beautiful. The monotone color is kind of blech.. but I see that it does have some merits in the pictures. The photos are all of empty Norse countryside amist'd winter fog, free of most of mans structures save for some old stone works and a gravesite. Good. I would only expect nothing more from goth metal. My only complaint (and a big one) WTF was the artist thinking when in order to create some parchment script effects, he utilized the Constitution of the United States of America?!?! Oh god that looks awful! There was not any medieval text one could have used instead??? Gezzz!

The band photos are really nice. Though I must say these guys look very strange, not the physical and hairstyles I would expect for a gothic doom outfit. But it works in its own quirky way, I could imagine each person a separate unique individual that has come together to create this fully formed music. Being into goth style I do find the 'look' of a band can be an important contributor to their sound... These people have strange haircuts and appearances and all but somehow it all works. I bet they would be wonderful to see live! Though I would hope the venue has a couch to sit on! Cause I'm sure you will be sitting there for a long time...

Stigmath, November 12th, 2012

"Let yourself focus on your pain, let it grow inside".

While the one gazes through the whitish fog that surrounds the lonely trees scattered along the green vale, the Omit chamber orchestra has already started dispersing the magic spell around.

It might be pretty painful to go through the whole album as a listener due to two points: first, it is over 90 minutes of sound expression, and second, those 90 minutes are filled with grief, pain and despair so much that not everyone will be strong enough to bravely say that he or she went through it (several times?) and understood the path quite well.

Starting from the end of the tracklist, the most extensive song “Insolence” , being a heartrending cry of hopelessness, presents probably the most beautiful delivery of the liquid sorrow in doom metal music I have ever listened to. The ambient part grows into the maniacal feeling of despair and the soloing violin is the only thread that connects you with reality, so deep the impression is. Step by step the compositional idea progresses, blessing the listener with the inner feeling of being drained. The final couplet perfectly finishes the whole steady paced narration, showing the ultimate disillusionment of the one’s world.

In terms of the traditional vocalic performance, the voice of Cecilie Langlie on this album may seem emotionless, bleak and monotonous to the one who does not pour into this melancholic music in-depth. Sorrow, despair and harrowing grief are painted here with so many various semitones that surprisingly the respect on the vocal work silently comes by itself as a totally apparent thing. The biggest probable evidence is the song "Constriction" with all the "highs" that Cecilie shows, resonating somewhere in between the dark thoughts and the visions of light.

The whole acoustic and electric guitar work, as one of the main cornerstones of doom metal, is performed in a very classic way as for the sound so for the composition, becoming my personal favourite side of the album. It is not very high-sounding, but a little bit clearer and louder than the droning background, seemingly picturing the naturalistic aspects of how the real distorted guitar in mournful doom metal should sound like. I must admit that it is one of the main driving forces the Omit ensemble owes to, but however, it allows creating such atmosphere only after being densely inter-knitted with vocal lines and with the work of the rest of orchestra. Such a captivating example of brilliant heavy, but subdued guitar riffing is presented in the song "Dissolve", where the rhythm section provides the solid ground to step on for the guitar based moving forward, leaded by the vocals, "following as if your eyes were open" . And, such schematics seem to matter because the Omit wins over such elements and their essential variety.

Melodically speaking, the most catching development is possessed by a song "Fatigue" , where the main lines are sung with such a breathtaking passion that the words such as "takes forever more summers to mend..." complement the exact feelings and stay remembered as if the song would be about yours truly (listener). Pretty intense beginning for starting point, but whenever holding the function of introducing song, the "Scars" bring the Omit orchestra to audition. The right well hidden move (even if not intended to be such), though if the listener as every doomed human being must be literally caged into something that will prevent him from switching off and hold in its embrace for at least the certain period of listening time, without giving an opportunity to the subjective perception to bloom; then the majestic world will blossom out. The "Scars" precisely set the tone of the whole album. They draw the door into the world of sadness, mournful mornings and inescapable desolation and open it before the listener. They dither the boundaries of imagination and aural perception, so similar the colours are to the world we know. Becoming almost shamanistic at the second half of its time-line, the “Scars” have everything ready to start your journey into the despond world of Omit.

Concluding the written, it must be said that “Repose” became a valuable jewel in the modern world of mournful music, particularly among the doom metal sub-world. Generally speaking, the Norwegians do not offer a new revelation to the genre, full of innovation and exploring the non-visual horizons, but they do present the essence of several decades’ long doom metal experience. They weave the perfect combination of emotions and feelings, finely fusing the key elements altogether and breathing life into it. The eclectic music of this band must stay out of time, be a timeless example of the doom metal art.