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Album Reviews : The Omnific – The Mind’s Eye

By on May 3, 2019

For the uninitiated, Melbourne’s The Omnific is a three-piece, all instrumental band. Two bass guitars and drums, no guitars, no vocals whatsoever. What sounds, on paper, to be fairly simplistic, in reality, is anything but. These three artists have created something rather special here on this six-track EP. In fact, it transcends even progressive rock at times, venturing into jazzy/fusiony territory when the mood takes them.

And the best thing about it is that these boys have the chops to pull it off with aplomb.

Obviously, these boys can play, like skilled technicians. The bass notes and lines come at you in wild but highly coordinated waves, and the drum grooves are consistently interesting and original. Of course, technicality amounts to zip if you can’t write a compelling, memorable tune to save yourself. And these boys display a real compositional nous on The Mind’s Eye. The tunes somehow manage to be catchy, in their own quirky way, and they are neither too protracted or too brief. They get in, make a really strong and bold statement, take you on a fun four to five-minute ride, and then get out again.

Best track honours go to The Lifeless Charm, with its electro intro and undertones throughout the track, it’s rolling, tapping riffs leading into percussive slap and pop locking in sweetly with the drums, and its complex but driving rhythm. It really is killer.

This band really do create a ‘symphony of the bass’. If you like left of centre, vocal-free tuneage, check this band and their EP out when it drops.

Band: The Omnific
Album: The Mind’s Eye
Year: 2019
Genre: Instrumental Prog Rock
Label: Independent
Origin: Australia

About

Rod Whitfield is a Melbourne-based writer and retired musician who has been writing about music since 1995. He has worked for Team Rock, Beat Magazine, themusic.com.au, Heavy Mag, Mixdown, The Metal Forge, Metal Obsession and many others. He has written and published his memoirs of his life and times in the music biz, and also writes books, screenplays, short stories, blogs and more.