OminumGatherum

New World Shadows is an interesting album. The genre is melodic death metal, and while the Finnish band's fifth album is, overall, well executed, you have to be into this to appreciate it. While saturated with synths, to the point of cheesiness ("An Infinite Mind"), and some questionable clean vocals ("New World Shadows"), the talent of the band makes even those who aren't into this sub-genre take another listen. What stands out for those who aren't into some of the "newer stuff" like Children of Bodom or even legends In Flames is the aggressiveness that, despite the sappiness, shines through. It's not easy, but one gets the indication that OminumGatherum's main goal is to, while staying true to the musical style they have fine-tuned since 1996, remain as heavy as possible. And it has developed into New World Shadows being a very interesting album, almost surpassing 2008's The Redshift's critical acclaim.