LICH KING
The Omniclasm
Self-released (2017)
Rating: 8/10
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I must admit, I really enjoy Western Massachusetts thrashers Lich King a lot. The two things that draw me to them, outside their music of course, is their sense of humour and perspective on life. They have a brilliant way of looking at the world around us and seeing it with a crystal-clear perspective.
Lich King are not afraid to call BS which is a rare trait in this politically, sensitive, climate we live in, and able to do so with a razor-sharp wit which seems to be missing in metal these days. When and why did everyone get so damn serious? To quote Lich King “…metal’s supposed to be fun”. Read the lyrics to ‘Cut The Shit’ on this sixth full-length studio album The Omniclasm and you’ll understand.
I admire bands who are serious about their craft, but there’s an inherent amount of goofiness in metal as well. Spinal Tap pointed that out to us in 1984 and Lich King isn’t afraid to do it in 2017. Hell, they did it in the past with songs like, ‘Attack Of The Wrath Of The War Of The Death Of The Strike Of The Sword Of The Blood Of The Beast’, and ‘Black Metal Sucks’, which they’re probably best known for. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the controversy surrounding the artwork of their 2014 Do-Over EP. Apparently, the fellas in D.R.I. weren’t amused. It’ll happen.
Highlights here include ‘Preschool Cesspool’, ‘Cut The Shit’, ‘Take The Paycheck’, ‘Crossover Songs Are Too Damn Short’ and the crunch heavy ‘Our Time To Riot’. There’s a lot going on with this record musically. If you want to talk super-retro-thrash (Lich King reference, wink, wink), there’s a big S.O.D. / Nuclear Assault vibe that runs heavy through The Omniclasm, both musically and Tom Martin’s vocals. I want to be clear when I say this is Lich King having learned from the masters and fully unleashing their inner beast here. I mean, nothing is held back, and that’s what really makes this record great. The wall of guitar sound on The Omniclasm is nothing short of impressive; tight, fast, crisp and completely on point, it’s a head crusher.
I touched on the band’s sense of humour at the beginning of this review and yes, the band isn’t afraid to express a point of view or poke fun, sure. But you have to dig a little deeper to gain a better understanding of where that humour comes from. ‘Preschool Cesspool’ has that classic S.O.D. / Billy Milano edge to it. If you read the lyrics to ‘Take The Paycheck’ the humour has bite, laced with the kind of sharp sarcasm that reminds me of something Jello Biafra would write or say, same thing with ‘Our Time To Riot’ sans the humour component. When this band writes a song they do it with daggers laced with the blood of the dummies they have in their crosshairs.
The Omniclasm is outstanding, with not a bad song on it. The music is at a calibre that a lot of big name metal bands used to be at that, but no longer are. Maybe they took the paycheck, who knows, right? File this one next to Nuclear Assault, Slayer, Megadeth and Overkill proudly. Lich King has earned their rightful place amongst the best of the best. This is one band that keeps getting better and better with each new release.
Theron Moore
