If you’re gonna go out then you may as well go out with a bang, right? Well, the soon-to-be-departing Project 86 is finishing up their storied run with a legacy solidifying slab of material that begins on OMNI Part 1 which is the closest one can get to recreating that first time you heard the Orange County outfit. Is it a religious experience? Possibly. A defining one? Most definitely.
Before Project 86 ride off into the sunset, they have a lot left to say in the form of a massive slate of releases revolving around “an immersive Sci-fi/horror media experience” which include a double album, a film, and a novel. The first of which is OMNI Part 1 and, concept aside, this record is VICIOUS! We’ve been following Project 86 since the Drawing Black Lines days and can honestly say that we don’t think we’ve EVER heard the band this heavy or heated. The intensity and technical prowess alone here put the penultimate Project 86 record in an almost Meshuggah-like realm. Yeah, we said it.
“Apotheosis” is just the start with a slow build that peaks atop a mighty mountain of riffs, synths, and Andrew Schwab’s enraged pipes with “Virtual Signal” following suit on a similarly shreddy heavy banger. “0_1” is just wicked and “When The Belfry Breaks” is monstrous as this loud, lumbering sonic kaiju lurches along between a Sludge and Doom-filled state. Equally imposing is the positively electric vibes of “Metatropolis” that explode from the speaker with percussive accents and droning guitar lines laying waste to yer earholes with Schwab’s impassioned screams at the forefront.
“Trust the Science” is one of a few mood enhancing soundscapes interspersed throughout OMNI Part 1 with this particular gem giving way to the decidedly more quiet Trip-Hop in an iron lung feel of “Tartarus Kiss” and a shift that fills the latter half of the album. “Skin Job” is a mid-paced ditty fueled by soaring guitar lines and another ridiculously rotund vocal performance from Schwab who carries that momentum into the beginning onslaught of “Spoon Walker” and sustains it throughout this almost seven minutes of mega Project 86 heaviness. OMNI Part 1 comes to a close with “Tears In Reign”, a spacious album ender that merges the world of Blade Runner with the sonics of old school Fear Factory for a monolithic and hypnotic bout of finality at the start of this journey toward Project 86’s end.
OMNI Part 1 arrives on March 24th with pre-orders and pre-saves up for clicking when you head here. For the latest on Project 86, including info about ALL their upcoming releases, follow them across their socials by heading here, here, or here.