Where other bands might take 15 minutes to construct a musical concept, OMAAF has discovered a way to be just as progressive inside a minute or two.
Review by David Feltman
In the more extreme sub-genres of metal like grindcore, it’s easy for technical proficiency to get lost in the barrage of barks and blast beats. That and considering the average length of a grindcore song is roughly 30 seconds, the subgenre doesn’t give you a lot of time to savor the musicianship. But the overwhelming skill of guitarist Casey Causey (also guitarist of Witch Language) can’t be overrun or obscured by such genre trappings. Causey rips through finger mutilating riffs at breakneck punk tempos, providing the secret sauce in OMAAF’s stew of awesomeness.
Ethnospheric Decay’s seven tracks mostly consist of one-to-two-minute song blasts. Only the closing track “Babel” attempts a beefy Between the Buried and Me-esque six minutes. But it works. OMAAF doesn’t shy away from experimentation and this isn’t typical grindcore. Songs shift from manic to mellow in an instant and even at around 90 seconds, tracks like “The Macabre Address” provide a lush and fully realized musical journey. Where other bands might take 15 minutes to construct a musical concept, OMAAF has discovered a way to be just as progressive inside a minute or two.
Despite a striking resemblance to Michael Cera, Andy Knight has an imposing and impressive metal voice. Knight transitions from pig squeals to cookie monster growls with ease, accenting the band’s exploration up and down the registers. There’s a lot to love about these Birmingham, Ala. natives and having already played with the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan and The Faceless, the band seems poised to reach a national audience. OMAAF is a band to watch.
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