OM
God Is Good

Inside Emil, outside Chris.

A change that leaves you with trembling knees and a strong desire to see if the symbol of the divine, now that it has lost its original pulsating half, will still be able to pump enough blood to stay alive, or if, inevitably, the journey started in 1990 with Asbestosdeath, through Schlepp first, and finally reaching Om, will end naturally in 2009 with the release of the first LP where bassist/preacher Al Cisneros will have to manage without the usual partner in crime (and not only) Chris Haikus. (In reality, in 2008 "Gebel Barkal," a single containing two songs for eight minutes of music, was already published, which is definitely too little to judge.)

"God is good" hope Al and Amos.

 "God is good," and his paths are truly infinite it seems: the sound vibrations from the thirty-four minutes of this album do not seem to take much account of the change in drummer. As if to say that a lineup change does not necessarily imply a change in direction. Indeed, as blasphemous as it may seem, perhaps a more incisive and present drum as in this case gives the work an extra aura of mysticism.

Cisneros' slow and evocative prayers, veiled by psychedelic bass loops, are emphasized by moments of silence where only bass, drums, and percussion converse among themselves with singular harmony.

In conclusion: the new Om do not present us with anything new, but they retouch, correct, and improve the work the group has shaped over the last six years. They deliver an album that could be a perfect "Pilgrimage Vol. 2"; an album that makes small but significant steps forward in form, without altering an iota of the substance it exudes.

Perhaps (perhaps), the best album by Cisneros.

...From the monastery only elongated shadows and orange sand.