In the Woods... - Omnio

Artist:           In the Woods…

Album:         Omnio

Year:            1997

Line-Up:       X. Botter

                    Jan Transit

                    Christer Cederberg

                    Oddvar A:M

                    C:M. Botteri

                    Anders Kobro

                    Synne Diana Soprana

                    Bjørn Harstad

Label:           Misanthropy Records

From the ashes of Green Carnation, In the Woods… was born and what a strange and enchanting Norwegian group with an engagingly mysterious sound it turned out to be. Terje Vik Schei, also known as Tchort, left for Emperor from Green Carnation as a main composer in the former band, and so the rest of Green Carnation decided to have a fresh start with a new name and a new sound. Even though almost every Norwegian band has a black or death metal background, the result is unique and beautiful.

The band is usually called avant-garde metal, but Omnio is pretty doom. Mid-tempo and slow riffs with hypnotic melodies together with the variation of smooth and rough vocals is the surface of this album, but the more you listen to it the deeper it takes you to swirling confusion and to peaceful tranquility. This is one of those albums to listen instead of counting sheep; it may lead to rather interesting dreams. The female vocals work brilliantly in a couple of the songs. Experimental metal creating a unique atmosphere, the mysterious group is worth exploring.

The tale of In the Woods… isn’t very long. The band published only three albums at the end of the 90’s and it remains a hidden gem in the huge population of Norwegian metal acts. This is a definite addition to any prog-rock collection, it is even not that difficult to find. I urge all fans of metal and prog to check this out:

In the Woods… - Omnio? (pre, bardo and post): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXhb98nurwc

Written by: Oz