Stockholm, Sweden outfit No Omega is back in business. After having signed to the French based Throatruiner Records (Bone Dance, Plebeian Grandstand, Direwolves), No Omega hasn’t lost time and returns with Shame, the follow-up to their impressive 2012 effort Metropolis.

Recorded in January 2013, Shame is a hard-hitting, abrasive and very dark piece of work. Delivering twelve fast, furious, and angry yet beautiful tracks for less than thirty-one minutes, No Omega hasn’t lost their ability to create gloomy atmospheres. We still can hear this desolation and darkness in each track as if No Omega couldn’t get rid of their anger. The band has stated that they planned to take their music a slower and heavier turn than on the previous album, and they did. You can feel with their blistering mix of Crust, chaotic Hardcore, Post-Rock, Sludge, and Post-Metal, that the band has been forged on the roots of modern aggressive music.

If Metropolis was spreading the band’s ideas about veganism, politics and civilization criticism, Shame is focusing on themes like loneliness and anxiety, rejection or society contemplation. Lyrics are shouted with despair and intensity while tracks are filled with chaotic and explosive riffs. No Omega really tries to reach an original and intense sound while remaining in type norms.

While Shame can be considered as the band’s best material to date, it has a lot of similarities with the sound and the production of their previous album and sometimes, the listener might have the feeling that he’s listening to Metropolis B-sides. But it’s obvious that the band has evolved and the tracks on Shame are still very bleak and passionate but clearly more elaborated and skilful. There’s a reason why the band defines their music as “hopeless and heart-breaking doomsday hardcore punk” and after listening an uncompromising record such as Shame, you’ll know why. It’s an experience that can’t let you indifferent.

If you’re a fan of bands such as Dead Swans, Bastions or their hometown fellas in Grieved, you surely should check No Omega, as they now stand strong in the European hardcore scene. This new full-length is due out this spring on 12″ vinyl, just before the band leaves for a European tour with This Gift Is A Curse and Palm Reader. If you go check No Omega’s Bandcamp-page, you’ll be able to stream and download the whole band’s material for free. Trust me, it’s worth the click.

Track list – Shame

1. Earth Stands Still
2. Vacants
3. Sleeping In
4. Below
5. Woodlands Pt.1
6. Utopianist
7. Dirt Hands
8. Enigma
9. V (Control)
10. A Man Reprieved
11. Woodlands Pt.2
12. Shame (bonus track)

Written by Alex Tabankia