---

Rwake's Voices of Omens will be relentlessly bombarded by comparisons to Crowbar and Neurosis. For yes, it is sludgy, there is much riffage, and depressive mantras are screamed, growled, moaned and otherwise imparted via the ugliest of "singing" methods. After a brief intro, the ugly, agonizing (Rwake prove that the best way to convey negative emotions in music is by making it painful to listen to) first half of "The Finality" kicks in. Just when you start wondering if these guys are going to go down the path of Examination of The... or Amen Ra, with ugly and doomy being all they can do, the band ups the tempo and jumps into a spree of delicious riffing. This juxtaposition of Neurosis-style ugliness with ear candy riffing, and Rwake's ability to transition between and execute both styles perfectly, is what makes Voices of Omens worth hearing.

Another great thing about the album is just how immediately likable it is. The production is great - the band's two screamers, one male one female, are fairly low in the mix, sounding like they are yelling from the wall of the guitars and bass. Atmospheric interludes featuring acoustic guitar, piano and Neurosis's trademark evil sounding voice samples stitch the songs together, and also show Rwake's gift of timing; much like their ugly sections they never last long enough to turn you away from the album. Unlike basically every other band playing their style of sludge metal, Rwake know when to curb their experimentalism before it becomes boring without making their music shallow.

I'll keep this short because their isn't much to say; if you have an interest in Crowbar, Neurosis, Eyehategod, Mastodon, Swarm of the Lotus... then Voices of Omens is as close to a must-hear album that I have heard. Rwake do not bring anything new or ground-breaking to the style, but their music still grabbed me on the first listen and has enough depth to keep me listening to it again and again. I can think of no flaws to this album.

---

Reviewer:Jeff Mcquiggan Added: March 12th 2007