Search - Old Man's Child :: Vermin

Venomously blackened death metal

Nicholas Adam Chupka | Derwood, MD | 01/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While Galder, who writes and plays nearly all the music on this album, is most famously known for his work with Dimmu Borgir, I think his once side project, now veteran force in its own right, Old Man's Child is more varied death metal which leans towards the often maligned glam black of the Norwegian supergroup, and British counterparts Cradle of Filth. Vermin is a wicked stew of thrashy death marches, pulverizing grindcore breakdowns, blizzardous flurries and orchestral explosions of black metal whiteouts, and concurrently brutal and melodic death metal, played with such mastery that the mix successfully emerges as this band's unique formula, avoiding the trappings of overly-ambitious and needless variety.



The glue holding these styles together is the symbiotic relationship of unmatched musical prowess, the apparent determintation to go balls to the wall for the album's entire 37 minutes (disappointingly short, I know), and the pervading mood of inescapable evil. The crunchy riffs, both the doom paced and thrashed paced, strike like bloodthirsty snakes which dispel the conventional wisdom that such beasts will only attack when provoked. The album boasts fantastic lead work as well, effectively balancing wicked runs and complex riffs with blazing solos. Being a fan of slow Slayer, I really enjoy the machine gun hammer-on and pull-off licks here, reminiscent of those that were abused so well on classics like "Seasons on the Abyss" and "South of Heaven".



Though Galder must literally be given all but the smallest slice of credit for this top of 2005 release, the other slice is still a critical one. Reno Kiilerich's drumwork serves as both the thunderous roar of impending doom, and the frenzied pace of all out war, on Vermin. The double bass is played with such obsessive stop and go precision, that it is quite easy to overlook his systematic destruction of the rest of the kit.



Predictably, the keyboards and vocals bare the greatest resemblance to the previously mentioned pariahs, Dimmu and COF, especially with the Danny Elfman-Batman-like intro. and bridge in the fantastically epic "Lord of Command (Bringer of Hate)". However, the true metal of shredding guitars and rapidly detonating drums unapologetically leads this pillaging at the hands of OMC. The vocals, which never sink to puny troll witch level, actually fit the music well, and like the keyboards, never steal center stage and drag the music into pointlessly dramatic circus fare. Still, the keyboards play an integral role in filling out the eerie and sometimes futuristic mood of this album, no matter how low or high they be in the mix at any particular point. "The Flames of Deceit" and "Black Marvels of Death" best illustrate this point as the somewhat subdued keyboards provide retro-hallucinogenic and electronica backdrops, respectively, to produce more dynamic soundscapes.



And with the amount of effort that went into keeping Vermin from staying in any one place for too long, this is an album that is guaranteed to provide countless hours of listening enjoyment. For me, this is my first exposure to an artist I've been hearing great things about for a long time, but have never given a chance. So obviously I cannot rate this album in comparison to the other 5(?) releases from OMC, but what I can say is this release produced enough HPMs (Headbangs per minute) to leave me foaming for the back catalogue. Another top 10 for 2005."

Melodic black metal that's not so melodic

A. Stutheit | Denver, CO USA | 11/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Galder, who plays lead guitar, bass, and acoustic guitar, has returned with his side project, Old Man's Child. With all of the Norwegian black metal bands flooding the market today, it can be difficult to discern between them. But OMC are different than other dark metal bands like Cradle of Filth and (Galder's other band) Dimmu Borgir, because they don't include artsy things like an orchestra. Instead, Old Man's Child just focus on sheer brutality. Granted, "Vermin," the band's seventh album, doesn't conquer much new ground that other black metal bands haven't already covered, but it is relentless, not very melodic black metal at its finest. It's brimming with raspy vocals, thrashy guitars, and lightning fast drum work. "Enslaved And Condemned" begins slowly, but the soft strumming is flattened soon thereafter by a speedy guitar and blinding double kick drum attack. Later on, "War Of Fidelity," is a flurry of buzzsaw guitars, "The Flames Of Deceit" is very thrashy, with fast, dual guitar shredding, and "Black Marvels Of Death" has thunderous drum punches. There are a few moments of relief: "In Torment's Orbit" sprinkles on a some spacious keyboards, and "Twilight Damnation" begins with some acoustic plucking which is actually rather pretty. All in all, however, "Vermin" is a very brutal, very opaque album. It may be the only (and therefore best) black metal album to be released in 2005, and it's strongly recommended to fans of bands like Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, and Grimfist."

Excellent stuff

METAzraeL | NV | 10/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first OMC album that I've gotten, and I am totally impressed. Galder's voice is pretty brutal; real vicious BM vox. The guitars are great, and the drums fit perfectly. The keyboards are pretty classy and don't get carried away or intrude. It truly is a great album, although it is kind of short. I wouldn't say it's the best album of the year, though. That will be Bolt Thrower's "Those Once Loyal," of course."