Century Media - 2013
Broken Hope is a band I have many fond memories of. Their first album I purchased was Repulsive Conception in my 'metal infancy' in 1995 and then special ordering Loathing when it was released (before we had the joys of going to the Internet and purchasing online). Loathing still stands as one of my favorite death metal albums and I wore out my shirt several years after receiving it. After vocalist Joe Ptacek was tragically lost, I never thought we'd see the day of a Broken Hope reunion, but low and behold, in a year of death metal comebacks (Carcass, Gorguts, to a lesser extent Suffocation), this was one of my most anticipated of the lot.
Everything about this album reeks of classic Broken Hope. First off, the cover art is fantastic! One of my absolute favorites this year, it reminds me a bit of the creepiness of their Loathing cover, but even more badass. The Broken Hope guitar tone is still there, just listening to "The Flesh Mechanic" before Omen's release gave me some goosebumps in how it seemed the band never lost a step. Ptacek's replacement, Damian Leski, keeps things just as sick vocally. Going for those super low, extremely unintelligible vocals really hits the target and keeps the spirit of Broken Hope intact. Lastly, Jeremy Wagner's penchant for gore-soaked lyrics have not dulled with age and things are just as strongly written as ever.
With 13 songs in about 36 minutes, the band truly cuts to the chase with each track. The lengths rarely go above the 3 minute mark, hearkening back towards their Bowels of Repugnance and Swamped in Gore days (there is even a re-recording of "Incinerated") of frenetic blasts of speed and groove. That's not to say that the songs are a whirlwind of relentless and unremarkable goregrind. On the contrary, each song is densely packed with some surprisingly memorable moments (for death grind that is). From the goofy sampling of "Rendered into Lard" to the surprisingly atmospheric ending of "Ghastly" to the satisfying solos sprinkled throughout, you'll find something worth checking out again.
What will certainly draw you back though is the sheer number of killer riffs on this album. My favorite one here, and certainly one of the most headbangable riffs of the year is that of "Predacious Poltergeist" (start at about 0:28 seconds). "Give Me The Bottom Half" has a great driving riff with plenty of groove too. Finally, the full-out start of "Choked Out and Castrated" deserves mention as well. These are just the first ones come to mind, the whole album is full of some real gems!
Back in their heyday, Broken Hope never really got the fan base of their brethren like Cannibal Corpse or Deicide, which is unfortunate given the quality of their material. While they may no longer be the most technical or brutal band on the planet, Omen of Disease serves as a love letter to those long-standing Broken Hope fans. This is some of their best work to date! Highly recommended!
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