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One Man Army & The Undead Quartet

The Dark Epic

Written by: PP on 17/03/2011 04:07:19

As my fellow scribe Ellis so nicely pointed out in his review of the previous One Man Army & The Undead Quartet album "Grim Tales" from 2008, references to older In Flames material from the "Colony" and "Clayman"-eras are distributed evenly across the record. The new album, "The Dark Epic", is more or less a logical evolution from the previous record.

In many places, however, OMA opt for a more aggressive approach rooted in the hardcore-fueled thrash metal rage of The Haunted. Plenty of Gothenburg-style melodeath melodies linger about everywhere though, giving songs like "The Zombie Syndrome (Of Acid And Man) a good layer of melody and an element of catchy for the In Flames fans, but without sacrificing the thrash metal inspired riffing. So don't come in expecting Gothenburg scales from start to finish (like Dark Tranquillity). Instead, the expression is rawer and more uncompromising in nature, perhaps therefore more 'scene-safe' in many ways as it avoids placing the band in the unfortunate cloud of anonymous metalcore bands.

While claiming the stamp of approval from the non-scene metalheads, OMA indeed walk on a tightrope of trying to balance the heavy with the melodic, and this is one area where I find they have been successful on throughout "The Dark Epic". The songs are well constructed and interesting, often containing multiple passages of both (sometimes simultaneously), with extra focus placed on choruses that won't go in one ear and out the other. There are better bands out there, sure, but "The Dark Epic" is a solid release in the melodic thrash / melodeath genres, if you ask me. But then again, I'm a sucker for melodies.

Download: The Zombie Syndrome (Of Acid And Man)
For the fans of: The Haunted, In Flames, The Crown
Listen: Myspace

Release date 25.02.2011
Massacre Records