OG produce complex but accessible death metal that incorporates elements of thrash and tradl metal without ever sounding derivate. Top quality Finnish steel, in other words. It has said also that if you mix At The Gates, Katatonia, Death and Judas Priest there's the recipe to OMNIUM GATHERUM stuff! OMNIUM GATHERUM took it's first steps at gloomy and oily cellar in a south-eastern harbour town of Kotka in Finland during the spring days of 1996. Omnipotent young fellas Markus Vanhala and Olli Lappalainen (ex-singer/og all-time art designer) were extremely influenced by the rapidly ascending wave of scandinavian melodic death metal and the polar alliance between despaired brutal metal and the hopeful melodic and traditional side of music. So, Omnium Gatherum came to life and the result was the band of many directions and styles, some of them clearly visible while others more unseen - Namely working and keeping it all together under the monicker of melodic life-and-death metal and bastardizing it by various influences around. During the next years OG rehearsed, composed and released demos and builded up a quality cult following in the underground. After a highly acclaimed "Wastrel" demo the band signed a deal with the growing UK metal label Rage Of Achilles in 2001 and the OG's were sent right away to the Sonic Pump studio to record their debut EP "Steal The Light". The EP was released after a long, long wait in September 2002 and both the critics and the audience seemed to like the stuff. The debut full-length album "Spirits And August Light" was released in April 2003 via Rage Of Achilles and gave the band some well deserved attention within the underground metal community and the press. The album showed another side to the light: despite the clear & catchy melodies and the stable rhythm all along the way it had a lifelike taste of dirtiness to it, with desperate love and uninvited hate searching for an outlet, like something you didn't want to see happen but it did none the less. The reviews were unbelievable great, for example being the only Finnish band ever so far with a debut review of 5/5 in Kerrang!, and all the major metal magazines followed in the same vein. So far, so good... so what! Next in line to be was the band signing to a metal giant label Nuclear Blast in the autumn 2004 to release the second album "Years In Waste". More technical, more progressive, more sophisticated but at the same time colder and moving away from the listener was the new recipe that was completed with themes from the wasted youth, depression and soul-loss, shamanistic metaphors leading the twofold way back in time while the moon shone stranger than ever. It is always darkest right before the morning. Spring 2006 an era came to an end in OG and the long-time singer Antti Filppu was replaced by Jukka Pelkonen a ka J. "Stuck Here On Snakes Way" was the debut OG album featuring J on vocals and it was released in April 2007 after a successful UK tour and a signing to Candlelight Records. "Snakes Way" is an endless road dealing with the choices in our existence and the temptation within the mind of every soul on this third planet of ours, and unfortunately so many people are stuck... The band didn..t get stuck with the album and the "Snakes Way" conducted the band to do tours with Dark Tranquillity, Caliban and Entombed, spiced with a large amount of Finnish headlining gigs and the 31 position at Finnish national album chart! 4th Omnium Gatherum album "The Redshift" was nailed and furled at Sound Supreme & SouthEastSounds Studios during the spring days of 2008 and it was mixed and mastered at Unisound Studio in Sweden by the legendary metal-mastermind Dan Swanö, who commented the album with his nice words: "I hate bands like Omnium Gatherum, They are so good it pisses me off!!! Their fine blend of melody and aggression is so good I actually thought about stealing the record and release it as my own :) You won't find a better album in years." "The redshift" really introduces the camp OG in its very strongest form to date! The album is full of contrasts; melodic but yet brutal, lots of changing atmospheres, moods from sorrow to joy and from hope to despair, very catchy but still stand outs lots of listenin and sands of time - An OG milestone, a classic! ...And it's all about riding the red shift! The Redshift riders can be seen touring in Europe with Nile & Grave in autumn 2008. Thorsten Zahn, chief editor of METAL HAMMER GERMANY: "Nobody can deny that the metal scene is thriving and blooming. Fresh new bands carry the spirit and give new impulses to the genre - or at least leave their fingerprints. One of these young and hungry bands is called Omnium Gatherum. The Finnish six-piece creates complex yet accessible death metal with traditional influences and a massive dose of thrash metal. This puts Omnium Gatherum in line with Finnish high-class metal forgers. www.omniumgatherum.org www.myspace.com/omniumgatherum