OMNIUM GATHERUM - FINLAND

Spirits And August Light – 2003 – Rage Of Achilles
Years In Waste – 2004 – Nuclear Blast
Struck Here On Snakes Way – 2007 – Candlelight
The Redshift – 2008 – Candlelight
New World Shadows – 2011 – Lifeforce
Beyond – 2013 – Lifeforce
Grey Heavens – 2016 – Lifeforce
The Burning Cold – 2018 – Century Media
Origin – 2021 – Century Media

Omnium Gatherum image
  
 
Members
Vocals
Antti Filppu – Elenium, Eluveitie>>JUKKA PELKONEN>>Eluveitie

Guitar
Gore Penetration, Manitou, Insomnium, Malpractice, Wolftrap, I Am The Night>>MARKUS VANHALA>>Gore Penetration, Manitou, Insomnium, Malpractice, Wolftrap, I Am The Night – Carrion, Aske, Total Devastation, Kaihoro>>Harri Pikka>>Total Devastation, Kaihoro, Solar Cross – Vital Signs, To/Die/For, Hateframe, Malpractice>>Joonas Koto>>Malpractice, To/Die/For, Kotok


Bass
Janne Markkanen>>Locust Year, I Am The Night – Crystal Blaze>>Eerik Purdon>>Crystal Blaze, Shear, The Nibiruan – Toni Mäki – Amoral, Ari Koivunen, De Lirium’s Order, Raskasta Joulua>>Erkki Silvennoinen>>De Lirium’s Order, Raskasta Joulua – Pain Confessor, Skyward, Wolfheart>>MIKKO KIVISTO>>Pain Confessor

Drum
Total Devastation, Gore Penetration, Devil Creations>>Jarmo Pikka>>Total Devastation, Gore Penetration, Devil Creations, Solar Cross – An, Torture Killer, Amoth, Torn, Deepred, Demigod, Hateform, Nerlich>>Tuomo Latvala>>An, Torture Killer, Demigod, Hateform, Nerlich, Dystopian Domain - Zealot, Whispered, Anger Cell>>ATTE PESONEN>>Anger Cell


Keyboard
Befrost>>Mikko Pennaneh – Bleeding Chamber, Marianas Rest>>AAPO KOIVISTO>>Marianas Rest




History & Biography
The ‘gathering of things’ came together in Karhula in 1996. The demos that followed were called Forbidden Decay (1997), Omnium Gatherum (1998), Gardens, Temples… This Hell (1999) and Wastrel of 2001. Rage Of Achilles signed the band and the masses could purchase the Steal The Light EP in late 2002. It was really the band’s 2001 demo rerecorded. It made the band an early leader of the self-cover version trend. The band’s full-length appeared in 2003. Amoral and Rage Of Achilles' signee Omnium Gatherum toured using the Dead Achilles monicker. The second album was on Nuclear Blast. The third one was on Candlelight. An Australia-based group with same monicker changed its name in order to avoid the duplication. Jukka Pelkonen was singing. Bassist Eerik Purdon left the band in mid-2008. The group toured with Nile and Grave that year. Harri Pikka’s reason for departure in 2010 was declared a mystery.

The band’s New World Shadows was the band’s fifth album, and first for Lifeforce Records, and was slated for release on February 4th 2011. The label had signed the band in the summer of 2010. The band announced that drummer Tuomo Latvala was a permanent member then. 2017 had Amon Amarth touring Europe with support from Dark Tranquillity and Omnium Gatherum. The band released a new album, called The Burning Cold, through Century Media in August 2018. The group played at Summer Breeze. It was the debut for Tuomo Latvala. Amorphis, Dark Tranquillity, Moonspell and Omnium Gatherum announced a North American tour for September and October. The group announced an autumn 2018 tour with Nothgard and Wolfheart. The band announced Nordic Metal Cruise, Nummirock Festival and Metal Over Malta for 2019. Jani Liimatainen of Insomnium joined for live guitar work in 2019 and stayed for a year. He would disappear on Insomnium in 2024 as the band and Omnium Gatherum were to tour. Markus Vanhala joined I Am The Night and Cemetery Skyline too in 2020. Koto returned to To/Die/For and the band recruited former Arch Enemy guitarist Nick Cordle. Drummer Atte Pesonen joined in 2021.

Pelkonen was a guest singer for Eluveitie in 2023. The band was playing Finnish concerts to start 2024. Then it was off to Central America including one of those cruises. Band and member-mates Omnium Gatherum and Insomnium then were to tour Canada and the USA. The band was confirmed for the 2024 edition of the 70000 Tons Of Metal.

Vanhala is the only original member. He is involved in Insomnium as well however. He proclaims himself an Iron Maiden fan.


Reviews

OMNIUM GATHERUM - STEAL THE LIGHT - RAGE OF ACHILLES
Ooooh Omnium Gatherum, that's like so kewl.
Let me check... that's right! They are... wait for it... hold your breath... calm down... it's coming... breath in, breath out... Finnish! No wonder there is a naked man's back side on the cover.
Mikko plays keyboards. His granny is so proud of him. He is her little angel. She knows he will outgrow this 'metal' phase thingie and settle down with a good Finnish... girl. Two of the band members' last names are Pikka. Could it be that no one in that family can get a girlfriend? Seriously, get a girl and move on guys. And who is that on the inside cover wearing that, oh-so-Amorphis, Dervish-type blouse? He looks so pensive. Perhaps he is asking himself how he got into this mess which includes standing next to the guy in the Slayer T-shirt? What a farce. These kids are probably influenced by Children Of Boredom and Amorpiss to no end and are now waiting for the sales figures to rush in before they launch their world tour (debate rages, 'should we open for Slayer or have Judas Priest support us?')- especially the keyboardist is so adamant! All information will be announced on the band's web site www.SAUNAlahti.fi/wanhala/OG. That is not a joke either. Check the address for yourself.
These guys almost take the sport out of it.
The Finnish metal scene is in such an abysmal shape that if a physician had to be called to relieve its suffering, the only choice would be Dr. Kevorkian - Ali "The Metallian"

OMNIUM GATHERUM - SPIRITS AND AUGUST LIGHT - RAGE OF ACHILLES
The music of Omnium Gatherum on Spirits And August Light is difficult to describe. The band is heavy one moment and soft another. The singer can growl and scream while the song delves into a melodic and impressive guitar lead. Whichever the case, the overall effect is constantly undermined by the presence of a keyboardist who insists on crippling the band. Then again, given the band's Finnish nationality having a grown man scream on top of keyboards is considered normal. Perhaps titles like The Emptiness Of Spirit and Amor Tonight further elucidate the band's approach. Having said all that, congratulations are due the band, engineer Nino Laurenne and Sonic pump Studio for the powerful sound. It elevates the album greatly. Here is one note of trivia with which to close the review: one does not have to listen too closely to hear the band copy Pat Benatar's Love Is A Battlefield on the song The Perfumed Garden. Just listen to the keyboard. - Ali "The Metallian"

OMNIUM GATHERUM - STUCK HERE ON SNAKES WAY - CANDLELIGHT  
Candlelight Records should really stop picking up the refuse of Nuclear Blast. These bands could not deliver on NB and there is no reason why they would do any better on Candlelight. Case in point is Finland’s Omnium Gatherum. There was a fair amount of hype on the scene for these guys, but the band is essentially the same pop goth rock sound that their country is known for. Sure, Just Signs is a melancholy Sentenced rip off, but the rest of the album (with the exception of the cover picture) is methodical generica. New singer Jukka Pelkonen is standard stuff especially when he drifts into crooning on the aforementioned Just Signs. Most of the time he comes across as the son of Barney Greenway. The keyboards are of course there, as is the cartoonish lead guitar sound and the twangy riffs. The double bass drums go rat-tat-tat without any force and the obligatory whispered layers on several songs further reinforce the notion that Omnium Gatherum has an ominous future. A-Part Of God is fairly generic take on Dream Theater and some songs are slower than others. Yeah, this is generic Finnish 'metal.' The rudimentary Drudgery with its predictable arrangement says more than I ever could and Janne Markkanen might have agreed. The bassist recently left the band citing a lack of motivation. - Anna Tergel

OMNIUM GATHERUM - THE RED SHIFT - CANDLELIGHT  
It consistently confuses one how labels love to point to a band’s recording charts success. Apparently, Omnium Gatherum’s previous album, Stuck Here On Snake’s Way, hit the Finnish album charts at position 31. That being Finland, the figure in all likelihood signifies sales of some 500 copies, but the more pertinent issue is the validity of advertising a band’s chart success. How does it matter to a metal fan that a band was on the sales chart? Should metal fans start purchasing Celine Dion albums now?
Of course, Omnium Gatherum has a full-time keyboardist so the act is not far removed from being a pop band by any objective measure, yet the good news is how the Finns have improved their approach. With a revamped line-up behind it The Red Shift delivers some hard punches and mercifully assigns the offending ebony and ivory man to the background. The sound is tight and loud, the growls have become deeper - but typically Finnish a la early Amorphis - and the variety of the music ensures a certain degree of dynamism. The music titillates between progressive touches and intricacies to heavier pounding heavy metal. The Return is almost progressive in nature, for instance, whereas its follow-up Shapes And Shades revs up the deep growls.
The Red Shift - a Communist manifesto - is miles better than the band’s earlier days. With similar improvement on the next several releases Omnium Gatherum will soon become a stellar band. And those are big words from Finland, the land of milk and keyboards. - Ali “The Metallian”

OMNIUM GATHERUM - SLASHER - CENTURY MEDIA  
There are two things wrong with this. One is the nature of the band’s music. The other is that Slasher is an EP of 18 minutes and four songs, one of which is a cover version.
It could be argued that this is an odds and ends EP because it was recorded on different occasions and half the tracks feature the band’s new guitarist, half don’t and, as noted, one track is a cover.
The CD begins upbeat and fairly dynamically. Omnium Gatherum has by now earned the right to be compared to itself, and only itself, after all these years of activity, but if one is unfamiliar with the mostly Finnish sextet then think Dark Tranquillity in Finland with the vocals of Amon Amarth. The band is fronted by growls, backed by distorted guitars, simple keyboards and all atop catchy and poppy riffs that, if listened to earnestly, is danceable. It is just that OG masks it with distortion and growls. The music is sometimes better than at other times - when the keyboards disappear - as the prominence of the synthesiser varies.
Opening track Slasher comes clean with the same quality in its vocals briefly. Fortunately, the soloing is nifty and compensates somewhat. If nothing else, said Slasher confirms that the band has not lost its energy. Newer drummer Atte Pesonen is largely irrelevant buried in the mix and barely germane although it sounds like he is expending some good energy underneath the guitar and keyboards. Former Arsis and Arch Enemy guitarist Nick Cordle is here now having joined in 2022 and makes only a slight difference. This is Omnium Gatherum essentially as it was before he joined. Things go from doubtful to downright embarrassing when the band covers Maniac next. Yes, that Maniac! The Maniac is back and we are not talking about Exciter. Yuck, the Flashdance song. I mean these Finnish wimps take the sport out of it. They have a girl trying her best Flashdance impression in a video, which is less akin to dancing - the song admittedly does say, “She's dancing like she's never danced before…” - and more like frolicking on camera. They have decided to shoot a video for the cover version instead of an original, which either says something about the band’s commercial intentions or its confidence in its own compositions. Is this a good use of resources? At least, the girl is thin, long-haired, feminine and seemingly not tattooed trashy. But boy it trends embarrassing to see an ostensible metal band growl and headbang to a dance-pop tune. Hilariously, this version may have more keyboards than the original making this the softer version in one way. The guitarist mimicking a guitar lick on camera to a song from a movie called... Flashdance. Finland. Yikes. Land of Everfrost and Frozen Land.
Sacred is drowned in pop synth. It is a bland song made even more so by the flat production. Lovelorn is different, but not a surprise. The band has loved its Paradise Lost-type goth since the beginning and here it is manifested on track four. Again, it is growly and distorted and yet simultaneously poppy... quintessentially Omnium Gatherum.
It is worth noting that if someone is not knowledgeable about Omnium Gathering, and the act’s style, the ominous cover artwork and titles like Slasher and Maniac may lead to perceptions of gore metal, but Impetigo and CSSO can rest easy. No new competition has emerged. Instead… seeing a guitarist bang his head to a disco song… Finnish and tacky. - Ali “The Metallian”


Interviews







Omnium Gatherum