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For the past six years, Swedish metal quartet, CAREGAH, have been toiling and honing a groove laced brand of heavy metal. A cascading wall of sound delivering crashing hook laden riffs and rhythms that engage on a primal level. With an EP already under their belts and Osmium having already been through the self-release process, CAREGAH have rightfully earned themselves high praise from many quarters and built a firm base from which to launch themselves further. Now pairing with label ROAR, Osmium is now receiving its proper release and looks to make a statement of intent.
Chugging out of the traps is Forever Merciless. Packing all the punch that one would expect from a title of that nature, the band waste little time in laying out their wares and introducing their sound. Groove is the order of the day. Head down no-nonsense riffs are supported with foot stomping rhythms and the big chorus sections are powerful. It’s a weighty start to the debut, if a touch formula led in its delivery.
Modern metal owes much of its key hallmarks to bands like BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, MACHINE HEAD and LAMB OF GOD. Crushing riffs, engaging melodies and anthemic choruses. Many bands have built highly successful releases off the back of this template and when executed well, it hits the spot in all the right ways. CAREGAH have attempted to put their stamp on this pattern and tracks like Saateel, Terrorized and Floods of No Return absolutely nail this path. Gritty, pulverising and highly infectious, there are undeniable flashes of excellent metal throughout the DNA of CAREGAH and they are presented excellently on this punchy debut.
Osmium clearly highlights the musicianship and songwriting abilities of CAREGAH. As a metal album it is resplendent in all the genre hallmarks delivering catchy as hell riffs, groove drenched rhythms and highly engaging melodies. Right down to the captivating and emotive, lighter in the air ballad Tombstone. The four-piece have fully understood the metal album brief and carried out the remit to a tee. However, it is because it fits the template so well that Osmium can also be perceived as lacklustre. While clearly ticking all the boxes and the band have acquitted themselves well, there is a spark missing. An essence that would help tip this debut into the realms of greatness. A solid foundation from which to build, yet, they need to also carve a stronger identity for their sound to truly step up.
While there are some undeniable slabs of bruising heavy metal liberally available on Osmium, as a debut it feels very safe. There are large passages that feel a little paint by numbers, even some of the song titles have this aspect. There’s clearly ambition and talent to match, however, CAREGAH have not broken new ground. It’s a good metal album and for that it should be rightfully lauded and enjoyed by a wide cross section of the genre fanbase. However, it lacks a killer punch enabling it to stand out from the pack.
Rating: 6/10
Osmium is out now via ROAR.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: Osmium – Caregah appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
