Album Review: Desert Storm - Omens (2020)

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Picture Credit: Desert Storm
Artwork: Mattias Frisk

Desert Storm - Omens
Release: May 01, 2020
Label: APF Records
Format: Vinyl/CD/Digital
Length: 39:23
Genre: Sludge / Stoner Doom
Origin: Oxford, England


At first I was a little confused when I received the copy of Desert Storm's fifth longplayer "Omens". Haven't I already reviewed them before? And if so, how come I didn't know about their earlier works?
Turns out, I did not know the band before and I simply confused them with Portugal's Space Rock band Desert Smoke whom I reviewed for Betreutes Proggen.

Anyways, here's Ellio Cole (drums), Chris Benoist (bass), Chris White (bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Ryan Cole (guitar), and Matthew Ryan (lyrics, vocals). Together they are Desert Storm, a Stoner Doom and Sludge band from Oxford.

"Omens" features a spoken intro and seven new tracks. The quintet creates nightmarishly dark and sedatedly rolling soundscapes on their new release. Apocalyptic scenery and gloomy define the majority of the atmosphere. But there is more! The track 'Lockjaw' (video below) is a perfect example for the progressive impact to the desperate vein on "Omens".

The approach Desert Storm create their deep, dark and apocalyptic soundscapes with is autochthonous and very independent. Instead of being the five thousandth Sabbath-worshipping Stoner Doom band, they create a unique and unorthodox soundtrack for the end of the world. Thus, I am somewhat reminded of Germany's Doom Metallers Mirror of Deception - not that they sounded so similar, but considering their uniqueness within a self-pollinating genre.



My favourite feature of the album might be the shifted accentuations. Even though most of the songs on "Omens" are rather slow or mid-tempo, they appear very dynamic and contain unexpected twists. Further versaitility is given by changes in distortion and intensity, and lastly by Matthews various vocals reaching from clean voice over hoarse shouts up to sludgy screams.


Desert Storm Online:
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