"This rules. There's no trendiness here, just chugging riffs, cool songwriting, and the rough and ready vocals of the late JD Kimball. Omen just have that magic, that true-metal feel that so few bands since 1988 have managed to keep. This is the kind of music that reminds you of why you liked metal in the first place. For True Heavy Metal fans only!" — The Metal Crypta
Gli Omen da Los Angeles, formati nel 1983, dovrebbero essere considerati i fondatori dell' Us epic heavy metal insieme a Warlord, Manilla Road, (i primi) Manowar, Savatage, Virgin Steele e Armored Saint, scelsero di adorare il genere nella sua tradizione più pura e vera, distaccandosi dal thrash/speed metal americano che imperversava quel decennio. I loro album , il debutto "Battle Cry" ed il successivo "Warning of Danger" sono diventati, giustamente, dei veri e propri classici dell' HM. "Teeth of the Hydra", "best of" pubblicato nel 1989 dalla Metal Blade, che contiene 11 highlights tratti dai loro album (4 + 1 Ep) pubblicati durante i cinque anni della band con l'etichetta statunitense, è un ideale riassunto della loro carriera per chiunque voglia assaggiare le qualita' della band. Tutti i classici sono qui e anche se alcune tracce snaturano verso il thrash ("The Curse", "Termination"), è l'heavy metal vecchia scuola di pezzi come "Teeth of the Hydra", "Bounty Hunter", "Die by the Blade" dallo spiccato stile Iron Maiden (che evidenzia le influenze NWOBHM della band), "Dragon's Breath", "Teeth of the Hydra", "Battle Cry" che trovano il gruppo americano nel loro vero elemento, un emozionante ed epico HM impreziosito dalla voce unica e ruvida di JD Kimball (purtroppo scomparso nel 2003). Non sorprende quindi di trovare solo 1 pezzo da "Escape to Nowhere" ("Thorn in Your Flesh" - 1988) con il futuro cantante degli Annihilator Coburn Pharr, che lo ha sostituito nell'ultimo album della band. Disponibile per la prima volta in vinile, gentilmente concesso in licenza dalla Metal Blade.
Omen from Los Angeles, formed in1983, should be considered as founders of Us epic heavy metal together with Warlord, Manilla Road, (early) Manowar, Savatage, Virgin Steele and Armored Saint, choosing to worship the genre in its purest and truest tradition, detatching from Us thrash/speed metal that was the “king” of that decade. Their 80’s albums, debut “Battle Cry” and following “Warning of Danger” became, rightly, HM classics. “Teeth of the Hydra”, a compilation album originally released in 1989 by Metal Blade, featuring 11 highlights drawn from the four albums and one Ep released during Omen's five-year tenure with the Us label, is such an ideal career wrap-up for anyone looking to sample the band's wares. All the Omen's classics are here, and even if some tracks follow the thrash-way ("Termination", "The Curse"), it's the old-school heavy metal of standouts like "Teeth of the Hydra," "Bounty Hunter," the very Iron Maiden-like "Die by the Blade" (exposing the band's New Wave of British Heavy Metal influences), “Dragon’s Breath,” “Teeth of the Hydra”, “Battle Cry” that find Omen in their true element, an exciting epic heavy metal sound embellished by the unique and rough voice of J.D. Kimball (unfortunately passed away in 2003). Not to surprise so to find just 1 track from "Escape to Nowhere" ("Thorn in Your Flesh" - 1988) featuring future Annihilator singer Coburn Pharr, who replaced original vocalist on the band's final Metal Blade album.
Available on vinyl for the first time, kindly licensed by Metal Blade.
.jpg "Omen - Teeth of the Hydra")
.jpg "Grave Digger - Symphony of Death")
.jpg "Capricorn - Inferno")
