Album Review: Bad Omens — CONCRETE JUNGLE [THE OST]

Varied sounds in one explorative album.

A series of unsettling sounds kick off Bad Omens’ Concrete Jungle [The OST], paving the way for an album that’s fast-paced and multifaceted. The beginning vocals are delicate and ethereal, but the music is a mixture of electro-industrial vibes and hair raising metal that would be perfect for the next Matrix score. “V.A.N.” repeats “violence against nature,” along with a slew of equally disturbing lyrics most likely about artificial intelligence and its nefarious plight to destroy mankind. Even if listeners can’t appreciate the complexities behind each lyric, the beat is infectious enough to guarantee some serious stereo play. Throw in an occasional well-placed shriek and the result is music that refuses to quit.

But the album is just getting started. 

“The Drain” flows effortlessly from “V.A.N.,” and the vocals give off some serious Stabbing Westward vibes — but in a good way. They’re emotive and work perfectly with the music’s relentless beat. It’s entertaining, even for anyone experiencing the band for the first time. The vocals are haunting, the sound echoing amongst the instrumentals in a perfectly brooding juxtaposition. Although the album doesn’t necessarily follow a cohesive theme genre-wise, its sound ebbs and flows with the moods behind each set of lyrics, every song conveying its own type of power and precision. Some artists dole out lyrics without putting in any thought or effort, but that’s not the case with this album. 

As the album unfurls, some songs are more subdued than others and, as soon as the band assumes some type of uniform sound, there’s a sudden change in direction and the music switches gears yet again. It keeps listeners on their toes, unsure of what the next track offers. Multiple vocals offer a rich diversity to every song, painting a multidimensional tapestry of explorative sound. Songs that offer elements akin to smooth (albeit electronic) jazz make this an album that refuses to conform to any one genre — and there’s nothing wrong with that.