Omen – Into The Arena [Compilation, 2012]

Omen – Into The Arena [Compilation, 2012]

I’ll have to make clear from the start that when it comes to “Omen”, I can’t be 100% objective. I’ll try my best though. They are one of the bands that lead me to discover the underground metal scene. What we have here is a band that kept the flame of Heavy Metal alive for decades without getting the slightest bit of recognition from the press and the fans, thus condemned to stay underground.

                Their first 3 records and the “Nightmares” EP are masterpieces of pure Heavy Metal, full of anthems of the genre, so there’s no big mystery why they remained unknown to the large American crowd of the 80s, whose main interests were glam and thrash. The band released 3 more records which sounded very different from the first ones, had constant line-up changes and suffered the loss of the great J.D. Kimball, their original singer, in 2003. Why did they keep playing? Because of the passion of the bands founder, the great Kenny Powell, who felt he had to continue and “keep his dreams alive”.
                They have already announced that they’re going to release their new full-length album “Hammer Damage” this year from Pure Steel Records, but before that, they’re giving us a taste of rare old and unreleased material with their new compilation album “Into The Arena”. So… what do we have here?

                Tracks 1 – 6 are live recordings from 1985, at the Cameo Theatre, San Antonio, Texas. This is one of the few known live recordings of the original line-up with good sound quality. Another one was on the box set that was released from Metal Blade Records (2003). Kenny Powell felt it important to release these songs, especially with the passing of the great J.D. Kimball. You can definitely get a good taste of good old live “Omen” here as the performance of the entire band is extraordinary even according to today’s standards. Tracks 7 – 10 are the lost demos of the “Warning Of Danger” album and were forgotten in time until now. These are very raw versions of songs written for the “Warning Of Danger”, recorded in 1984. I must admit that certain songs like “Don’t Fear The Night” are probably even better than the original version. Kimball’s feeling here is something that you don’t hear very often even if you’ve heard a lot of classic bands. It’s as far as I’m concerned, the perfect combination for a metal singer. Not “too epic”, not “too power”, not “too high-pitched” and not too “melodramatic”. Just plain “heavy” the way Heavy Metal singers should sound like.

                The last songs are “Kings Rock”, which is an unreleased instrumental and “Escape To Nowhere”, which is a rehearsal with some extra guitar parts. Another song which shouldn’t pass unnoticed is “Voices Screaming” with current singer Matt Story, which was recorded around 2000, before the “Eternal Black Dawn” CD, and was never before officially released. “Into The Arena” CD comes with 16-pages booklet, including liner notes from Kenny Powell, unreleased photo material and lyrics. The official release date was March 15, 2012 from No Remorse Records (http://www.noremorse.gr/). The recording was produced by Kenny Powell, some additional recording and digital re-mastering was mad at KRP studios, Dallas, TX, the cover art is by Matt Story / Dane Graphics and the artwork by Eleni Papadea.

The songs included are:

01. Premonition
02. Death Rider
03. The Curse
04. Battle Cry

05. Bounty Hunter
06. Torture Me
07. Warning Of Danger
08. Ruby Eyes (of the Serpent)
09. Don’t Fear The Night
10. March On
11. Kings Rock

12. Escape To Nowhere

13. Voices Screaming

Editors Note 1 – The release will be limited to 500 hand-numbered copies.

Editors Note 2 – I hope that sometime in the near future I’ll get the chance to hear a recording, or better yet, attend a live performance of my all-time favourite “Omen” song, “At All Cost”.

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