ANIL OZBEK – Omniscient
September 24, 2019, 5 years ago
(Independent)
Man that cover art ain’t reeling anyone in, but this one-man death metal act from Turkey is actually worth more time than you’re thinking after looking at the front of Omniscient. Check out the sludging DM of “I Hate You All To The Bone”, the song a terrific example of what Ozbek is capable of, and one where he, I’m happy to say, transcends the usual one-man-band barrier that prevents any warmth from ever exuding from these projects. And get a load of the excellent “Dissolved”, where Ozbek digs deep into a melodic, slow-moving death metal eulogy, and the closing title track, which adds in some dynamics and skillful playing, creating a more modern melodic death sound that also flirts with some Lamb Of God sounds and spirits with some success.
The production is a bit thin at points, and even though this has great feeling for a solo project, I’m still left thinking, man, great potential here but there’s so much more that could be done: get a band together and lead the way for further death metal glory. I’m impressed that Ozbek handled all instruments as well as recording, mastering, etc. here, but the impression I’m left with is if he focused on guitar and songwriting and left the rest to people who could focus on those other areas, this would be even better.
