### The Wretched End: Ominous

#### 28/02/11 || cadenz

Sophisticated black metal progressors Emperor are no more. Brutal death metallers Zyklon are no more. Enter The Wretched End, Samoth’s new project. With a “little” help from his friends Cosmo (familiar from Scum and Windir) and Nils Fjellström (Dark Funeral, Aeon etc), our favorite Norwegian Thomas has brought to life his aural vision of something the metal world never touches on, a taboo – Armageddon, the Apocalypse, the End of the World. What? The ol’ End of Things is firmly cemented in the top-3 of lyrical subjects in all of metal? Ah well, you learn something new every day.

A simple way of describing TWE’s sound is a thrashier Zyklon with some very slight tinges of traditional heavy metal. You can hear glimpses from Samoth’s past in Emperor as well, most evident in riffs sporting arpeggiated chord patterns. Chaotic, dissonant and unsettling. The majority of the material lies in heavy, mid-tempo death metal with lots of rhythmic riffs involving palm mutes and fast picking. Thrashy two-beats energize the atmosphere, and even some punk riffs see the light of day. Slayer seems to have been an equally great influence on “Ominous” as Morbid Angel.

The production is killer, everything is well placed in the mix and the material comes across strong. Cosmo’s vocals are nothing special per se, semi-high-pitched shrieks of anger somewhere between thrash and death metal, like the rest of the record. Nils Fjellström is a machine, in both good and bad. His playing is tight as fuck, and he sure ain’t lacking in the thundering-kicks-ov-doom department. Some surprise elements and unorthodox fills wouldn’t have hurt, though.

The overall impression of the album is very professional. “Ominous” is clearly not done by a bunch of rookies. Every song is a quality punch in the face, but something’s missing. The X factor or what you will, has gone hiding. The material is nice for a moment’s fleeting entertainment, but the lack of memorable riffs/melodies/vocal lines/arrangements/anything is a serious drawback.

Samoth has stated that TWE is a studio project, at least for now, which could mean that tours and such don’t take time from the song-writing process. Hopefully this means that he can delve even deeper into his vision and find the gems lurking beneath the surface. Happy hunting!

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Nocturnal Art/Candlelight
- Website: The Wretched End MySpace
- Band
- Samoth: guitars
- Cosmo: guitars, bass, vocals
- Nils Fjellström: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Intro
- 02. Red Forest Alienation
- 03. The Armageddonist
- 04. Last Judgement
- 05. Of Men and Wolves
- 06. Numbered Days
- 07. With Ravenous Hunger
- 08. Fleshbomb
- 09. Human Corporation
- 10. Residing in Limbo
- 11. The Juggernaut Theory
- 12. Zoo Human Syndrome