Alternative metal | Metal | Progressive metal
55%
Jamart—OmiNoUS (2024)
Details
Released on Friday 23 February 2024
For fans of Opeth, Devin Townsend, Slayer
Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube
Band
- Ersh On—Vocals and guitar
- Dutchie Holland—Bass
- Nathan Catlin—Drums
Tracks
- False feeding (6:19)
- MoDown (4:22)
- Till the end (4:16)
- Time (5:50)
- Empty (6:56)
- Brahms (5:00)
- Floors (5:04)
Review
Well, I’m back to the review desk after an extended leave of absence fighting a chronic chest infection and then succumbing to Covid for the first time since the pandemic began five years ago. Let’s see if this slab of progressive alt metal from down under can brighten me up.
Formed in Perth, Australia in 2019, Jamart (or JamArt, depending on which press release you read) describes themselves as “up-and-coming Metal/Alternative project with a penchant for writing infectious tunes and relatable narratives”.
Their Bandcamp bio simply says, “The sound reaches your mind, it is no longer a sound. Gone through a universe of change, frequencies, adaptions. Translates into an understandable, recognisable feed which your inner self can now interpret”. Surely a candidate for Private Eye’s Pseud’s Corner feature.
The album opens with a little over two seconds of frantic thrash before “False feeding” (track 1) dumbs down to a depressive, almost shoe-gaze, mildly progressive alt-metal style riff and harmonised vocals. It’s certainly got a catchy pre-chorus that could easily become an ear worm. The chorus itself is rough and shouted giving the track a distinctive shape and dynamics.
“MoDown” (track 2) begins with a middle eastern melody that brings to mind Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam” from the Black Album. It evolves into a bouncing bass note accompanied by a snare drum exercise and then the two worlds collide, a middle eastern-style melody played over the top of a thrashing band accompaniment. The only lyrics in this largely instrumental showpiece are an occasional “fuck you!”
The acoustic guitar opening of “Till the end” (track 3) somehow reminds me of the beautifully sorrowful Incubus. A lamentful song with beautiful harmonised vocals.
“Time” (track 4) takes things up a notch or two with a dark, thrashing riff that quickly leads to an ominous (or if you prefer OmiNoUS) arpeggio. Like the opening track, JamArt don’t appear to be able to keep their foot on the distortion pedal for too long, leaning only on heavier tones for occasional flashes of colour and texture.
“Empty” (track 5) again brings a depressive and lamentful tone. This track is a slow burn being the longest on the album. It features a few progressive moments as the song morphs between loud and quiet, mournful and angry, but always heavy. The band again borrow from middle eastern scales towards the end.
Another dark and ominous arpeggio introduces us to “Brahms” (track 6). The song morphs from one style to another, getting caught up in the end with a swirl of gutteral vocals and thrashing guitars. But the overwhelming feel of the track is sombre and depressive. At times, sad songs can carry you through, can give shape to your inner world and lift you to a brighter place. Sadly, this song sucked me under like a slow and steady whirlpool.
The steady tick tock of album closer “Floors” (track 7) does little to lift me out of the mire that the previous track left me in. The song is a little more upbeat that its predecessors, but it’s not enough to lift my spirits.
Conclusion
I feel emotionally crushed after listening to this album. It should come with a me(n)tal health warning. If anything, this album certainly appears to be reflecting the zeitgiest of our age.
I really wanted to like this album. When the accompanying press pack suggested that this album was for fans of Opeth, Devin Townsend, Slayer, I had high hopes. I can see why they pointed us in those directions, but sadly my hopes were not met. All in all, this album just left me feeling sad.
Review score: 55%
Video
Disclosure
Black Roos contacted me inviting me to preview JamArt’s forthcoming album, thank you. I have no connections to either Black Roos or JamArt. I’m not being paid to review this, but I did get a free digital copy of the album to review which is pretty cool. Many thanks to Black Roos, and to JamArtfor continuing to create fresh, exciting new music.