Omen
Eternal Black Dawn

The tears of those battles will remain crystallized in time, just like the fury of axes and swords: Omen have given this to heavy metal, whether you like it or not. In particular, the first three works will remain cult objects: perhaps unknown, raw, but felt and played like few other things in the genre. Then everything happened: the departure of the singer J.D. Kimball and his death in 2003. From the moment Kimball left the group, Omen have not been able to rise again: "Escape to nowhere" and "Reopening the gates" are bad albums, devoid of ideas, light years away from the first three works.

"Eternal Black Dawn" is the last studio album released by the American Omen: right in the year of Kimball's death this CD was brought to light. It is 2003 and since then the band has not produced any studio albums. The value of this platter is nothing extraordinary but serves to understand the history of one of the most underestimated realities of heavy metal of all time. Born in the shadow of Manilla Road, the band of guitarist Kenny Powell churned out (excuse the repetitions, but they honestly deserve it) three exceptional works, only to disappear due to a lack of resources and the departure of the singer. In "Eternal Black Dawn," Omen attempt to revive that "vintage" sound that characterized those CDs. As Powell himself has said multiple times, this last platter is a careful study of the sound and ideas of the past, so in short, it's recycling, although compared to the abominable thrash of "Reopening the gates," here there is certainly more quality.

To give birth to this CD, they took yet another singer in their career, such Kevin Goocher, with average vocal skills, nowhere near Kimball. "1000 year reign", "Burning times", "King of the seven seas" stand out as good pieces of classic heavy metal, but overall, the work remains on relatively anonymous standards. The best is found at the end, with the medley of past masterpieces "The specter of battle past".

"Eternal Black Dawn" does not give us anything more than what Omen had already given us before its release. A record that perhaps serves as a farewell for all those fans who have followed them through a difficult and troubled life which, however, saw flashes of absolute class. The important thing is not to forget them.

1. "1000 Year Reign" (4:01)
2. "Eternal Black Dawn" (4:25)
3. "Burning Times" (5:52)
4. "Blood Feud" (3:43)
5. "House On Rue Royale" (5:25)
6. "King Of The Seven Seas" (4:42)
7. "Chains Of Delirium" (3:55)
8. "Chaos In The Cathedral" (5:10)
9. "The Specter Of Battles Past" (7:29)