It’s only been a little over a year since Omnigone put out one of my favorite ska-core albums, and they are right back at it with another full-length album. Incredibly, there is absolutely no drop-off in quality despite the short turnaround. In fact, this might be their best album so far.
Omnigone features heavy hardcore influences and is among the hardest and heaviest ska-core bands on the scene right now. The first half of this album, especially, leans more into the hardcore and punk elements, but there are almost always ska riffs in every song, and the album, in my opinion (I definitely have a preference for earworms, gang vocals, and catchy hooks) gets better as the album goes on. I’m not saying the start of the album is bad at all, but once you get to Grief (track 4 of 13), it hits its stride and keeps going.
There are lyrical themes that have been present throughout much of ska music since its first inception- and those themes are unity and social justice. Those themes are particularly heavy in Omnigone’s songs. As far as unity, that is typically exemplified by a sense of community.
Feral begins with “Quicksand,” the album’s first single, and it prepares you for the rest of the album. It starts off an extremely fast-paced and aggressive song about keeping your head up through struggles even as everything is weighing you down and the world is fighting against you. The message I take from the song, about coming out on top and overcoming no matter the cost, is one of hope when all seems hopeless. The tempo shift into the chorus juxtaposed with the aggression through the verses sets up a nice balance that hits just right.
The second single from the album was “Grief” – a song dedicated to Nick Traina, a former friend and bandmate who passed in 1997, and about how, even 27 years later, the grief and sadness never really go away. The refrain of “and the band played on” can feel emotionally charged and haunting- especially as you watch the accompanying music video of lead singer and songwriter Adam Davis making a trip to Traina’s graveside to pay respects. The video begins with Davis visiting a memorial to Kiyomi Tanouye, whom the song is also dedicated to. This is a song that we all learn to relate to, unfortunately, but it’s amazingly well done.
I think my favorite song on this album, at least right now, is “The Youth.” The ska riffs on the song are some of the most dominant, the chorus is easy to sing along to, and I love the chorus of “I wish we lived in the country our parents tricked us into believing in when we were young.” It’s a short song that makes a valid point, and resonates strongly with how I feel now and how I felt when I was younger. However, the next song tells us how to start bringing about that country we were led to believe we had. “Fare Share” is a ska-core call for the working class to demand they get their fair share while demanding that we force the ownership class to pay their share of the fare.
Another great song that has earworm hooks and chorus while still having hardcore rhythms is “Her Story”, demanding that history be taught from different perspectives, that women’s history be taught and women are believed. From the inquisition to the burning of witches to leaders of the world today, there is a masculinity that has formed and shaped the narrative and a side of history that is shut down and ignored.
“Modern Medicine” is critical not just to the pharmaceutical industry but also for drugs that dull your mind but don’t fix your problems. The song is told from a first-person perspective, making it less about judging others or attacking people for using medication, but tells of a protagonist who sleeps more and more and hacks out a lung but never medically improves with the medication and rejects it. I think this song pairs well with “Again & Again” which demands we don’t hide from our trauma, or bury it, but requires that we face our trauma and not be satiated, that action is required for improvement and growth.
The album closes on what is probably the strongest song on the album. While on the one hand, it is critical of those in power who don’t care about the people they serve, on the other hand, it demands that we give them the amount of respect and loyalty that they’ve earned, with a resounding gang echoed chorus of “ZERO! ZERO!” hangs in the air, begging audience participation and action.
This is probably the ska-core album of the year and should be in constant rotation on many playlists. This definitely deserves consideration for the album of the year.
Written by Gimp Leg
