In The Woods...
Omnio

There exists an album, forgotten by everyone, in which all the dreams of a metalhead with good taste come true. To our immense misfortune, metalheads with good taste are terribly rare, and often praises are wasted in commenting on the most abysmal trash, enslaved by that imagery that ranges from the worst degenerations of fantasy to the usual satanic esotericism. This album doesn't contain even a crumb of that gaudiness that characterizes the music of too many metal bands, and which manifests itself even before listening in the covers and song titles, often ridiculous and childish like the music itself. In Omnio, this does not happen, and it becomes clear from the outset that In The Woods use metal as a mere springboard towards something absolutely different. This already happened in the previous "Heart of the Ages", but now the transition is complete, and here, fortunately, there is no longer any trace of black metal.

The album opens with cello notes (but please, don't think of the irritating Apocalyptica), to which electric guitars, drums, and bass are then added, and slowly a theme is defined that is repeated throughout the very long introduction. It is followed by a fairly traditional metal ride, with dual male/female vocals (performed respectively by J. Transeth and Synne Diana). The string interlude that follows is simply touching and isn't full of that self-indulgent complacency you might expect from a metal band accompanied by 'classical' instruments. "I Am Your Flesh" is perhaps the most metal track on the album (it contains the only growl of the entire album, for one), but it also has more expansive moments, and the music suitably accompanies the anguish described in the lyrics. The shortest track on the entire album, "Kairos!", dominated by remarkable female vocals, is almost a ballad, simple and perfect, with poignant guitars and a rhythm that changes from 4/4 to 6/8. And it has a breathtaking finish. It is followed by "Weeping Willow", a fantastic track, perhaps the true masterpiece of In The Woods. In it, you feel the vibration of the earth, the pulsating of every fiber of existence. It is what remains after the end of the world.

I hate when reviews become too poetic, but for this time I allow myself to digress. The double guitar arpeggio in the middle is of unsettling beauty, indescribable with the sterile conciseness of the critic-who-does-not-get-involved. In the long concluding track, everything happens and its opposite. An exhaustive comment would probably be redundant and boring, so I limit myself to mentioning only that little gem of psychedelia that divides the two "movements" of the track, a tribute of the band towards a rock to which it is visibly heir. Solemn yet somehow always humble, refined but not pretentious, "Omnio" is a masterpiece to be greeted every day with emotion.