Onomasy

Ashes And Dust

Samuel Fernandez – Drums

Mario Gomez – Bass

Pablo Acien – Guitar

Armando Rubio – Guitar

Alvaro Valdeavero – Vocals

 

1) Bow Down

This track is really more of an introduction track, not bad either, just a little over a minute long. It has this melodic technical metal feel to it. But the real show begins with track two “The Maze Of Unhappiness”

 

2) The Maze of Unhappiness

The whole band comes together for the first note of the song with a low guttural growl getting first blood. The first ten seconds of this song go fast, but it’s a great way to get acclimated to the sheer brutality that Onomasy possesses. The vocal range happening throughout this song is killer. Alvaro can hit some disgusting lows, and then his high vocals are razor sharp. When you get to the 1:15 mark you can hear the highs in perfect form. The guitarists are tight, they are precise, and it sounds like both can play a solid lead with one of them delivering a short solo around the 1:00 mark it’s a really brief riff really. But it has a old school feel to it. It’s placed well because they are hammering away with this tech death sound then an old school riff back into the rapid fire blasting tech death explosion.

3) Gray Days To Live

Way too early to call this song my favorite, but I have been spinning this track a lot lately. It starts out with a short bass intro, and then   the drums come in blistering fast and heavy, while the vocals come in high and fast almost right away.   Just listening to the guitars my forearms are getting cramps. The amount of discipline that this whole band has is impressive. This is a song that really grabs you, the rhythm is so catchy it pulls you in and you can’t help but move. The lead guitars around the 1:08 mark are great, and this is only ten second portion of guitar greatness coming off this album. Right at the 1:40 mark they get low and slow with their brutal and infectious transition. Its heavy as hell and when the next verse is seeing the finishing touches the guitars are tearing shit up all leading up to my favorite part of the whole song. It starts at the 2:27 mark. When the vocals come in, its catchy, its heavy, and you know that if you are seeing this unfold at a live show, the crowd is going to get rowdy. The gang vocals in the background and then Alvaro’s vocals layered over fucking work. After that section the guitars give us a melodic guitar solo with some Latin soul feel to it. Not a shredfest, its soothing in a way, it has local flavor and then they come right back out to end the song as hard and heavy as it began.

4) Ashes and Dust

A short guitar riff starts things off with the drums following right in after mere seconds. The vocals join in at the :21 second mark just after the rest of the band has done a number on your senses with the breakneck speed on the drums to the blistering pace the guitars have set up. In the first sixty seconds of this song you will develop a thought process as to why you haven’t heard this band before now. I am really digging the rhythm right around the :30 second mark it has a menacing feel about it. Right around the 1:00 mark, they hit you with a slowed punchy section that bridges to the next verse knocking out some teeth on the way. This song takes you on a journey through the low   bludgeoning death metal style, and speed things up with their rapid fire tech death sound.

5) Digging Up The Moon

This song starts right out of the gate with rapid blast beats and then a quick precise guitar riff. The vocals come in at the :05 second mark with the high range vocals. The intensity from the guitars and matching the vocals with the drums. They have unleashed a full on audio assault, from the rapid highs to the punishing low guttural growls. This song relentlessly pummels you into submission. A perfect example is at the 2:35 mark, the vocals are infectious, and the guitars showcase their ability, while the drums are grinding away blast beat by blast beat. At times Alvaro is nailing the highs and executing with a style similar to Trevor Strnad from The Black Dahlia Murder. This song is badass, makes you eager to hear the next track.

6) Descending to The Other Side

The song kicks off subtlety with a brief intro and then a nice melodic guitar solo starts things off. The song has a nice mid paced tempo, but it doesn’t stop them from   hitting us with blast beats and a killer guitar riff leading up to the : 36 mark when the first verse begins in brutal fashion. The song has a cool groove to it, keeping you moving right along with the changes. Right around the 1:30 mark the guitars are playing a killer riff harmonized before a short solo and into the next verse. Around the 1:52 mark they get low and slow, you can feel the bass drum doing a slow roll helping elevate that sinister rhythm. This song has so much to offer in its short just shy of four minute run time.

7) The Legacy “Interlude”

This is a nice melodic interlude with some ambient sounds and an acoustic guitar playing overtop. It’s a nice mellow 1:38 long track that lulls you to your safe zone, and prepares you for what is “The Jailer of the Lives”

8) The Jailer Of The Lives

The song begins with a mellow guitar riff, and the occasional drum cymbal, this is a nice relaxing introduction that seems to pick up from “The Legacy” before the guitars get distorted around the :35 second mark. That’s when the S.H.T.F and the vocals come in hard while the drums are breaking down the walls. Listen to the guitars tear shit up at the :55 second mark, while the song gets ready to transition into its next verse. The verse is a heavy death metal feel with plenty of old school character, and then as they come out of the verse they bring the technicality of modern metal. This song is heavy, slightly slower than most of their songs, but will knock you on your ass with ease.

 

9) In Memory Of The Reaper

The song fades in quickly with the band exploding in to the song at the :04 second mark. That’s when the guitars show off some of their talent while getting the song cranking. When the vocals come in at the :25 second mark, they come in heavy as hell and low, and immediately replying with the high rapid fire vocals. This song has enough to get your teeth sunk into and feed of the groove that they have laid down. Between verses the guitars give us a cool little solo and the vocals come in high and fast again. Just after the halfway mark we get a short bridge consisting of high vocals and a guitar solo, and then back into the verse. Right around the 3:20 mark they kick things into overdrive and get real heavy. Making the last thirty seconds of the song brutal, and catchy to the very last note.

 

10)I Am

The song begins with the guitars playing a cool riff for the first forty seconds or so. This song has an evil agenda by the sounds of it. I mean what is happening at the 1:00 minute mark with the rapid blasting, and the high vocals. I mean Samuel is completely decimating the masses with his footwork on the drums. The whole song has a groove about it, something that really pulls you in. A perfect example is   around the 3:16 mark we get a killer soulful guitar solo that lasts just shy of thirty seconds and then the band comes in hard. I enjoy the fact that they give it 100% to the very last note.

 

11) Advantage of The Disadvantage

For the first twenty seconds these guys really showcase their technical discipline and their ability to play with precise execution of every note. When the vocals join in they are low and heavy as hell for the beginning of the verse, the follow up to the verse Alvaro is cutting through the lines with his highs. Right around the 1:30 mark there’s a short pause and then a quick shredding guitar solo for about thirty seconds before transition back into the next verse. I love the tempo of the song, it has a driving beat to it, and it really gets you moving. This is a killer track and I love the balance of the vocals. At times he is really getting those lows, and then hitting the highs. But at times they are blended without too much overlay.

 

12) The Heritage of The Loyal

The song begins with a chugging guitar riff for only a few short seconds before the drums and vocals join in. All the other songs before this one seemed to be more of a precise note by note lay out of the song. Whereas this one seems to have a less technical approach to it, incorporating some dissonant sounds with more chugging riffs. This song is like all the animosity that has built up, has now exploded and this is the effect of that. The song is more death metal, with a slower pace, and low vocals for the majority of the song. Right around the 2:23 mark the song goes through a funky transition and then blasts out to a more melodic death metal feel. With a piano being heard in the background.

 

All in all this album is badass, and completely surprised me as I had not heard Onomasy until today. This album is easily an 8/10 rating from me, they showcase serious talent among the group from the guitars to the drums, the bass is not shy either we get to hear the bass stand out in quite a few of the songs. And Alvaro’s vocals are on point, seamlessly going from guttural lows to precision highs, the guy adds so much dimension to the songs by utilizing his range so well. This album  is more than just a tech death album, it breathes life into a genre that is starting to get more and more popular by the day. With so many bands playing similar styles of tech death, Onomasy try to break that pattern, by even changing things up with the last song being less tech death and more melodic death metal. One thing is for sure, if you haven’t heard Onomasy, or this album you need to. Right now.

Go.

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