Omen (United States) - The Curse (Album, 1986)
It's Omen time again! Today, I'll be looking at the band's third album and second to have power metal as a primary genre on RYM: 1986's dazzling The Curse! Let's check out the album cover:
The album opens with the title track, which starts with a kickass drum fill and accompanying guitar that goes into an awesome Iron Maiden style swinging riff, featuring a killer hi-hat beat filled with fantastic subtle double bass work. There's a great marching part that starts around 0:25 before it alternates between that and the intro riff a couple times. Then, we get a surprise: there's some great cymbal sweeps that slowly descend in volume over a sustained power chord, and then we get an awesome solo bass riff from Jody Henry which announces a change in tempo and feel.
The band soon joins in, with the guitars doing some great backing chords and letting the bass take the lead while Steve Wittig does some nice 8th note kick work while playing a cool tom beat. There's an awesome sound effect of a vicious wolf at 0:55, which sets the stage for J.D. Kimball to come in with some killer low, raspy vocals. There's a demonic effect put on his voice in this section, and it gives the song a perfect horror inspired atmosphere. Then, we get a nice drum fill and... woah, holy shit!!! The track goes into full kick ass speed metal mode! On Warning of Danger, I waited until "Termination" for this kind of headbanging fury, but on this album, I just had to wait a minute. It's a good... um... omen!
Now the drums are playing the classic speed metal beat on the hi-hat, which is perfectly accompanied by killer sixteenth note riffing. After we get a moment to appreciate the incredible riffs and stellar drumming, J.D. Kimball comes back in and starts the first verse. After that, the chorus keeps the speed metal fury going as the drums switch to the ride and we get another tubular riff. About halfway through this section, there's a quick awesome instrumental part where we get a killer guitar lick, perfectly matched by Steve Wittig going around the toms, and the chorus goes back and forth between the vocal part with the ride beat and the brilliant tom part a few times. It's an inspired choice to suddenly throw little curveballs like that in the middle of the chorus, and it pays off splendidly!
After another verse-chorus cycle, Kimball screams "Againnnnnnn!!!!!!" in an awe-inspiring, powerful way, while the ride beat from the chorus continues and an instrumental break begins. We get an incredibly melodic riff where the pitch goes up after a few repetitions. That trick never fails to make a metal riff feel so triumphant, and combined with the awesome speed metal beat and perfectly timed cymbal crashes that accentuate the melody, it's a formula for ultimate metal kickassery! Then, the riff changes and more notes are added before we get a sustained power chord followed by a fantastic drum fill and J.D. Kimball letting out a vicious roar that would make any death metal growler proud! After this section, we get a bit of earth-bending shredding before the drums return to the hi-hat and the third verse begins.
Once the third verse-chorus cycle ends, we get another repetition of the chorus, but this time the lyrics are changed to Kimball repeating "Should I kill?" a few times before he screams a beastly "Againnnnnnnn!!!!"... again. After this, the song goes into the outro, which is a reprise of the demonic vocal part with the tom beat from the intro, and the vocals sound even more wicked this time. Then, we get an awesome big metal ending filled with the crash cymbals going crazy and the guitars getting a nice melody in, which is perfectly accented by the cymbals. A killer fast snare fill brings us out of this killer werewolf themed song, a smoking opener to this scorcher of an album!
Track 2 is "Kill on Sight", which begins with a brilliant guitar riff played in a mid-tempo, swinging Iron Maiden style rhythm that's perfectly matched by some killer snare, tom, and double bass work. We briefly get a nice beat played on the ride, filled with great double bass notes without them being constant, and then a couple of tightly timed crash + guitar stop-start notes bring us into the first verse, which keeps the Maiden swing rhythm but moves it to the hi-hat, and the kick changes to a single bass pattern. When the chorus comes, the drumming goes into full kickass mode, with constant triplet double bass playing over the beat, which goes back to the ride. The vocals in this part are great - I love the background chanting of "Crank it up" and "Burn it up" after Kimball sings those lines.
Once the first refrain ends, we get a killer instrumental break with an awesome guitar riff accompanied by a different beat, filled with tightly synchronized crash and guitar accents. At this point, the song structure goes in an unexpected repetition - instead of going into the second verse, Kimball starts singing over the break, which works really well! Then, we get another surprise where the song goes back to the verse riff and hi-hat beat, but we get to hear them without vocals for a few bars, which is a change from the first verse where the vocals come in immediately. These subtle changes in the way the song is structured are so creative, and help keep the music feeling fresh.
After the second verse-chorus-break with vocals cycle, we go into the bridge, where the guitars and J.D. Kimball's voice get lower and there's more double bass on the drums - it's so menacing and cool! After that, we get an awesomely done stop-start part with tons of cymbal chokes that go with the guitars, which then leads us into a shredding guitar solo while the drums are still choking away! Putting a solo over a stop-start section is something that's rare to hear in metal, and it sounds great! While the epic shredding's going on, the song fades out, which brings us to the third song.
"Holy Martyr" is another mid-paced number. It starts with an incredible solo bass line from Jody Henry, and after a few seconds, the guitar comes in with a killer fretboard slide. This takes us into some killer double bass drumming paired with some more excellent guitar + cymbal accents, and a clean cymbal choke smoothly brings the song into a solo guitar riff, with the band occasionally joining in to emphasize parts of the rhythm through matching notes and cymbal crashes. A badass tom fill brings us into the beat as well as a fantastic new riff. The rhythm here swings in a "2 Minutes to Midnight" kind of way, but with more notes on the ride.
A quick fill brings us into another mindblowing riff while the drums go to the hi-hat. Steve Wittig gets some great syncopation in while Kimball goes into an epic "oh oh oh oh" melody that's perfect for singing along to! This part turns out to be the music over which Kimball will sing the verses. Halfway through the verse, there's a brilliant drum fill where Wittig goes around the kit with the guitar notes changing each time Wittig goes to a different drum. At the end of the verse, this part is repeated, which brings us into the chorus, where the drums go back to the ride. Kimball's vocal part here is so melodic and memorable!
In most metal songs, and rock songs in general, it's expected that a bridge or guitar solo will happen after the second chorus, but here Omen once again subvert expectations in a brilliant way by going into a solo after the first chorus! When the solo starts, the drums keep the same beat going, but there's extra bursts of double bass to make it sound even more grand. The guitars in the solo are dazzlingly fast yet wonderfully catchy, and after a few bars, the drum beat switches to the toms and snare while the guitars stop shredding and instead focus on the rhythm and melody, with the fill from the verse repeated halfway through - a wonderful callback, and an outside the box way of letting us know that the song's about to move into the next verse.
The way the second verse is structured differs from the first - another inspired move! In the first verse, Kimball sings eight lines and the big fill part comes twice: halfway through the verse, after Kimball sings four lines, and then again to bring us into the chorus. This time, however, the big fill part doesn't come when you expect it, and not until the second refrain is about to start does it appear. Once the second chorus finishes, the song goes back to the solo section, and the guitars go into a gorgeous Maiden-esque harmony. Then, we get one more repeat of the big verse fill, which ends the song on a perfect note. It's such an incredible, melodic and uniquely structured song!
Next up is "Eye of the Storm", which starts with a crash cymbal and a somewhat slow and memorable guitar riff, which is perfectly accented by the crash, toms and bass. Another kill drum fill brings us into the next part of the instrumental intro. The drum beat's played on the ride and something about the rhythm in this song reminds me of the mighty Fates Warning! The footwork is single kick but with fantastic occasional bursts of double bass brilliance. The guitar parts here are beautiful! Once the verse comes in, the melodic lead guitar steps aside so we can focus on the vocals and the rhythm guitar. The chorus keeps the beat from the verse going, but with some brilliant tom fills added that are perfectly placed in the parts where Kimball isn't singing to keep the music even more engaging.
After the second verse-chorus cycle, a gorgeous acoustic guitar melody comes in over some subtle cymbal sweeps, which gives the bass and drums some room to do some standout fills. Soon, Kimball comes back in on vocals while the drums get more elaborate, with some fantastic tom and cymbal work that enhances the guitar and vocal melody. Once this part ends, the drums go back to the ride beat and we go into a ripping yet delicate guitar solo. Soon, the drums switch to the hi-hat and there's more double bass moments, which is a fantastic way of rebuilding tension and letting us know that the song's about to come back into the chorus!
The last repetition of the refrain stands out by adding some tasty guitar overdubs that emphasize Kimball's vocal melody, and then we get a reprise of the intro, but this time with Kimball's fantastic vocals! This song has a wonderful sense of symmetry, and it ends with Kimball softly delivering "In the eye of the storm..." while some delicate cymbal sweeps and a sustained guitar chord gently bring us out.
Like on Warning of Danger, track 5, which is also the last track on side one, is an instrumental where the title's an abbreviation for something that's never revealed. This time, it's called "S.R.B." and the website Acronym Finder suggests it could stand for "Spoiled Rotten Brat" and "Smiling Really Big", among other things!
The track begins with a nice mid-paced and high pitched guitar riff with a rhythm that's soon emphasized by some awesome tom and cymbal choke work, along with bass that exquisitely matches what the drums are doing. A faster tom fill brings us into another "2 Minutes to Midnight" type rhythm on the ride, but this time with less accents. The bass matches what the guitar's doing, and after a quick drum fill, the drums switch to the hi-hat, and the riff's pitch gets lower but keeps the same basic rhythm.
After a few bars, the track goes back to the ride beat and the higher guitars, and then we get a spectacular surprise: the drums go into a rhythm where the hands go into double time, with the snare and hi-hat playing together on each beat of the measure. This is accompanied by a single kick pattern, and I love the flanger effect on the guitar, which goes into a kickass speed metal style sixteenth note riff! There's also more great crash + guitar synchronicity, which we hear for a slightly extended period of time before the drums go into the full kickass constant sixteenth note double bass mode that I love so much! The hands, meanwhile, are playing notes that alternate between the snare + a tom at the same time and a simultaneous snare + crash, which keeps the accents between the guitar going as it moves into another sixteenth note, which is higher pitched this time, which keeps the killer riffage fresh.
After this section, the song moves away from its speed metal elements and goes back into the mid-paced ride groove and brilliant Iron Maiden style guitar melodies, but then we get another fabulous surprise: the song changes time signature! The way the band transitions so smoothly into 3/4 shows the immense talent of the musicians, and the riff here is so fast for that time signature catchy! It's perfectly accented by the drums, which are playing the same rhythm as the guitar and the bass, with the kick on "1" and "2" of each measure and a crash + snare hit at each "3". Soon, a higher pitched layer of guitar joins in to make this part even more stunning, and what's even more virtuosic is that eventually, some measures in 2/4 start to come in, with the music going back to 3/4 right after.
After this magnificent display of technical ability, the music goes back into 4/4, and we get a marvelous traditional heavy metal sounding riff where the killer flanger returns, and it's accompanied by a straightforward hi-hat beat - and then the 3/4 part returns for a few seconds! This time, the guitars get increasingly high pitched as they go up the scale, and then we get a sustained guitar chord over some great cymbal sweeps and the sound of thunder and lightning. Eventually, the sustain and sweeps fade out, which gives us some time to absorb the sound effect before the band comes back in with perfect timing! There's no count-in or fill to cue the group, which makes the tightness of their re-entry even more impressive.
When they return, we hear a soft beat played on the ride and some incredibly beautiful acoustic guitar, which again reminds me of Fates Warning - specifically their awe-inspiring masterpiece "Guardian". Soon, some soothing piano comes in, and it's the earliest use of piano I've heard on a record I've reviewed here! There's no distorted or even electric guitars in this part, so the bass gets a chance to shine with some fantastic playing. Then, we hear some eloquent cymbal sweeps followed by a 2 beat count-in on the hi-hat, which introduces a new section of the instrumental.
Here, the music is a bit faster but still slowly paced, and the distorted guitar comes back while the drums go back to the hi-hat and play a louder single kick beat. The riffage here is so emotional, and it reminds me of Metallica's "Fade to Black". Once we're acquainted with the riff, a blistering yet melodic guitar solo begins. After the solo, the drums stay on the hi-hat while we're introduced to what could possibly be a sixteenth note double bass pattern, though it's slow enough to be played with one kick. I'm guessing Wittig went for the double kick here, because it sounds so powerful! This part also introduces us to a new riff, which features some more excellent matching guitar and cymbal work.
Once this section concludes, the composition returns to the 3/4 + plus occasional 2/4 part, followed by a repeat of the mid-paced traditional heavy metal riff with flanger part, and finally the "2 Minutes to Midnight" style intro riff before we get a new, killer riff while the beat stays on the Maiden style ride. Then, the beat switches back to the hi-hat as we get another fantastic riff for a short time, which is followed by the return of the 16th note flanger part. The instrumental ends with some perfectly timed drum hits that exquisitely match up with the guitars and bass. The notes gradually slow down until we get a big metal ending with some wild cymbal sweeps, fast double kick work and speedy guitar which gradually gets softer, with the piece ending on a sustained guitar note while the rest of the band stops. "S.R.B." is an extraordinary way of closing side one, and it has so much going on that this is the longest I've ever spent writing about one track!
Now, let's flip the record over:
While the guitar is doing this, we get some fantastic cymbal choke work which is matched with the bass and rhythm guitar. After a blistering tom fill followed by a couple cymbal crashes, we go into this part's drum beat, which has the always killer constant sixteenth note double bass rhythm combined with double time ride work while the snare stays in regular time. It's a marvelous beat, and keeps the track from going into full speed metal territory. At the same time as this beat makes its entrance, we get a fantastic guitar solo from Kenny Powell while the rhythm guitar, bass and crash cymbals occasionally play another synchronized rhythm to keep the music even more exciting. After the solo, the drums move to the hi-hat and J.D. Kimball brings in the first verse.
When the song goes into the chorus, the drums move to the ride and the rhythm changes in subtle ways - there's still a lot of double bass, but the sixteenth notes are no longer constant, and the timing of the synchronized rhythm guitar + bass + crash cymbal notes also changes. After a smooth transition, we go into the second verse - chorus cycle, which is followed by a big crash cymbal hit where all of the guitars hit a sustained power chord and the band stops for a second. When they come back in, we get to the bridge, where the drums change to a military style snare beat - Steve Wittig's playing really stands out here!
While the snare work is going on, we get two layers of vocals that mesh really well together, with one layer being Kimball singing the lines and another layer being the same lines, but delivered in a deeper, spoken word style rhythm. The guitar in this section is great, too, and perfectly complements what the drums are doing. After a speedy snare fill followed by some crash hits while Kimball hits some epic notes, the song goes into a mix of the verse and chorus beat - the drums are playing constant sixteenth double bass notes and the same crash notes as the verse, but this time the beat's on the ride instead of the hi-hat. While this is going on, we get a sublime guitar solo. We hear a catchy, high-pitched guitar melody, which is then harmonized in grand style! I love metal guitar harmonies, and they're always an awesome treat. They just feel so good to listen to!
Once this melodic part is complete, the drums switch back to the hi-hat and the lead guitar goes into full shred mode! The notes played here are so dazzling and fast. At the end of this section, we get a great 3/4 guitar rhythm that gradually slows down, with matching hits on different parts of the drum kit while the bass follows the guitars. Suddenly, the song jolts back into full tempo and goes into the third verse - chorus cycle! The track ends with another repetition of the chorus, but this time the double kick stays constant while Kimball ominously repeats "Fear the teeth of the hydra!" The outro takes us back into the 3/4 rhythm that gradually slows down, while Kimball lets out an epic "Soon you will meet the children of the DAMNEDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!" while the song closes in the same way as "S.R.B." but with the gentle cymbal sweeps lasting until the end. This outro is a great display of cymbal stamina!
The second song on side two is "At All Cost", which begins with a standout solo bass part from Jody Henry and deep background humming from J.D. Kimball that sets a dark atmosphere. Some tom hits, which get repeated a few times, announce the arrival of the first verse, where Kimball shows off a softer, cleaner side of his voice that differs from his usual gritty, raspy delivery. After a two beat count-in on the hi-hat, the drums switch to the ride and the song's rhythm switches to that classic "Victim of Fate" style feel while the distorted guitars in with some dazzling riffage.
After this, there's a brilliant marching part with the drums going back and forth between snare and tom hits mixed with awesome cymbal hits, with the guitars and bass playing the same rhythms in perfect time. Once this part ends, the music goes back into the ride beat and riff from before, but this time the kick pattern is my beloved constant sixteenth double bass - triplet sixteenth double bass in this case! This is followed by the first verse, where the drums move to the hi-hat and the kick work becomes a mix of single and double bass parts, with the latter coming in whenever Kimball pauses between lines. Then, we go into the pre-chorus, which makes me realize this is the first song on the album to have a pre-chorus!
During this part, the drums switch back to the ride and the double bass becomes more prominent, but not quite constant. and there's some extraordinary fills and extra cymbal crashes thrown in too. The guitars get higher pitched during this section, which is great for building tension and excitement for the chorus! Once the refrain comes in, the drums stay on the ride, which plays less notes, and we get some more crashes as well as some killer tom fills while the guitars move back to a lower pitch, which gives Kimball's voice room to dominate while he sings an inspiring message: "Don't separate yourself from your dreams / Do what you must to survive!" Listening to this song will make you feel like you rule the world!
Once the chorus concludes, the song goes into its second verse - pre-chorus - chorus cycle, the song goes into an instrumental break while the ride beat keeps going. The guitars here are constantly going up and down in a Maiden-like way - with this part and the riff that comes after sounding like a mix of the classic Iron Maiden songs "Running Free" and "Phantom of the Opera"! Once this section concludes, we go into the ripping guitar solo, with fingers blazing across the fretboard! There's a quick section in the solo where the drums get a bit busier with more notes on the snare, which is cool to hear. At the end of this section, the song goes into its third verse - pre-chorus - chorus cycle. The song ends by repeating the second half of the chorus again, which is followed by an awesome outro featuring constant double bass paired with a pattern where the ride combined with different drums hit at the same time, combined with a stupendous sixteenth note triplet guitar riff that closes things in style.
Track 8, "Destiny", begins with a faster, upbeat guitar riff that's soon accented by tom hits, and I love the high pitched guitar squealing that comes in at the same time as the first tom! After a cymbal crash followed by a terrific drum fill, the drums move into a drum beat on the ride, and the ride work here is impressively busy - I'd compare it to Iron Maiden's "Sun and Steel". While this beat is going on, we get some more furious shredding from Kenny Powell! When the solo ends, a high guitar note overlaps with the first verse, where the drum beat switches to the hi-hat. After this, we get the chorus, which features some powerful tom hits that perfectly emphasize and accent parts of J.D. Kimball's strong vocal melody. The section switches back and forth between these hits and the busy beat, which returns to the ride.
This is followed by another awesome part where Kimball's vocals are accented by more elaborate drum hits, this time involving the whole kit, and it's followed by a brief but awe-inspiring galloping part where the hi-hat and snare play on each beat of the measures and the double kick swiftly gallops along with the guitars. After that, we go back to the intro riff and ride beat for one bar before the second verse - chorus - break cycle begins. This time, when the intro riff is repeated again, Kimball belts out an epic "We create our own destinyyyyyy!" over which a killer guitar solo begins! When it ends, the track goes into the bridge, where the tom hits from the intro come back, but this time the guitars are different and Kimball sings. Here, we get 2 bars of the band playing followed by another 2 bars where the band stops and we hear a different sound effect each time: the first sound is a massive guitar sweep and the second and last sound is a piano playing backwards - a unique and trippy choice!
After this, we get more vocals from Kimball and a ton of cymbal crashes and drum hits that excellently complement the guitar and bass, which is followed by a repeat of the galloping part. After that, a huge snare fill and long note from Kimball bring us into a two-bar reprise of the intro riff, which is followed by the band going into the third verse - chorus cycle (no break this time!) This chorus is longer than the last two - this one ends with a grand drum fill followed by Kimball getting in an expertly delivered extra line: "We create our own destiny!" Once the line's finished, the band tightly ends the song immediately.
The penultimate song is "Bounty Hunter", which begins with a musicless spoken word part where J.D. Kimball sounds like a demon from a horror movie! The transition into the music is awesome - the demonic voice says "You're gonna meet me face to..." and then the band comes bursting in, with Kimball screaming "FACEEEEEEEE!!!" over a mid-paced tom beat and a devastating guitar solo. There's so many great drum fills and cymbal accents here!
Once the solo finishes, the song moves into the chorus, where the drums move into a hi-hat beat where the snare comes in. It's not common for a song to go into the refrain before we hear any verses, and it's another genius move from Omen! Then we get to the first verse, which RIPS! The drums move into a kickass skank beat on the hi-hat (skank beats being fast, thrashy Slayer style double time beats that alternate between the kick and snare at a tempo of at least 180 BPM.) This is the fastest drumming we've heard on anything I've reviewed so far, and when this part came in, I just had to headbang in approval! The riff here destroys, and Kimball's furious vocals in this section make things even better!
After this, we get a killer triplet drum fill which brings us back into the chorus. After another verse - chorus cycle, we go into the bridge, where the mid-paced rhythm switches to the ride, and we hear some Maiden-style galloping from the guitars as well as an occasional kickass drum fill that goes around the kit and accents what the guitars are doing. Soon, Kimball's vocals come back, which signifies that this section is the bridge.
After the bridge, the kick work starts alternating between single bass and double bass while the ride beat and fills keep going, and we get some glorious guitar melodies! This is followed by a measure-long hi-hat count-in which introduces another triumphant riff while the drums step aside so we can bask in its glory! Here, there's big crash hits at the first bar of each measure while the gorgeous guitar and the bass, which perfectly follows the riff, take the spotlight. After a few measures, the galloping rhythm guitar and single kick ride beat return over the glorious lead. This is followed by some quick crash and kick accents, and then ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!!!
The skank beat returns, this time played on the ride, and we get some beyond lethal shredding played over a badass riff - the solo's the fastest and most brutal we've heard on anything I've reviewed. It's worthy of any thrash band! After the legendary solo concludes, the song returns to the chorus, and after two crash accents, the refrain repeats once more, with Kimball's lyrics changed to "I am the hunter / The bounty hunter", which he sings twice. After that, we get a quick high-pitched guitar riff with precisely matched drum hits - another quick, tight ending!
The last track, "The Larch", is another instrumental. It atmospherically begins with some beautiful acoustic guitar and bass work, which is soon joined by some ripping yet delicate shredding which goes on for about a minute. After this, the music gradually slows down, and the album ends with a long sustained guitar note featuring some cool pinch harmonics. This short piece is a nice way to end the album, and it gives your neck some rest after the furious headbanging mayhem of "Bounty Hunter"!
To conclude, The Curse is another power metal masterpiece, and it would be the last LP that Omen would release in the genre, as well as the last with J.D. Kimball. However, 1987's Nightmares is a kickass power metal EP with Kimball still on board, and I can't wait to talk about that record! The Curse is the last 1986 release I'll be reviewing, so the wait shouldn't be too long. Next time, I'll be writing about a spectacular demo tape made by Detroit's first EUPM style band: Raven Payne!
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