Saturday 30 August 2014

OHHMS - Bloom (Album Review)

Ohhms 'Bloom' Artwork

Album Type: Album
Date Released: 6th October 2014
Label: Holy Roar Records

BLOOM - track listing:

1.Bad Seeds
2.Rise Of The Herbivore

Review:

I originally featured OHHMM back in March 2014 as a band to look out for with their blend of progressive stoner metal riffs that stood out from the crowd. Well since then OHHMS have been hard at work on their début album – Bloom – to be released on Holy Roar Records. OHHMS got signed to Holy Roar Records by sending them music and only one other band has done that before. THROATS.

Now don't go thinking that these guys are a flash in the pan hipster band latching onto the current fave sound within the Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal scene. As OHHMS are anything but. Let me tell you now that BLOOM is an incredible début album.

32 minutes of loud, bombastic and finely tuned sludge/stoner/doom/post-metal/psych-rock/noise carnage that makes you fall in love with music in the first place. How the hell does a band like OHHMS exist. As they sound like a weird supergroup rock collective though only if that supergroup consist members of ISIS, Pink Floyd, Torche, Monster Magnet, Mastodon and Baroness. First track – Bad Seeds – is an epic 18 minute thrill ride that pays homage to those great bands but OHHMS pull it off with great style and substance of their very own. It proves what a great talent OHHMS actually are as their ideas are bursting with manic violent addictive energy to impress you with.

The riffs are deafening with lead vocalist Paul leading the charge with loud as hell destructive vocals of his own. It's a rare thing for a band to release such an overly confident début album such as this. The styles of sounds that OHHMS have created here shouldn't really work but to their credit, the band take you on action packed journey where there is no turning back.

I still don't know what genre these guys fall under. When I first featured them I thought they were a instrumental rock band as the track I featured was purely instrumental. Thank fuck that OHHMS have turned out to be something different as Paul's vocals along with the riffs offer something very different that make you feel alive. OHHMS do include long passages of ambient based instrumental rock within their music from time to time. Mainly at the end of BLOOM which sees the band drift into post-metal territory.

Rise of The Herbivore is the 2nd epic track that BLOOM has to offer. 14:25 minutes of experimental Sludge/Stoner/Noise/Doom Metal craziness that once again shouldn't really work but OHHMS impress yet again. It features the same path as the first track with ambient based vibes slowly building up the atmosphere. Wait until the 5 minute mark when OHHMS unleash a loud and violent assault on your senses. Paul's vocals have a crazed slightly deranged mad-man feel about them which even scared me at times.

BLOOM is a brilliant and thrilling début album from a band who are going to be HUGE in the years to come. 

Thanks to OHHMS for sending me a promo to review. Bloom will be released via Holy Roar Records on Vinyl/DD/CD on 6th October 2014.

Check the Band from Links Below


Written by Steve Howe