Omegalitikum has quite the history behind it. It all began with the Indonesian brutal death metal band DeadSquad. In December 2020, they began work on a new full-length album called Omeg4litikum. Eight months later, Daniel Mardhany, Welby Cahyadi, and Alvin Eka Putra left the band due to various personal differences. Undaunted, Stevie Morley Item recruited a new lineup and released the album - now under the name Catharsis - on February 25, 2022. Shortly after his departure, Daniel gathered together former members of DeadSquad and created a new band called Darksovls. Their name is an homage to the famous video game series, but they changed the U to a V to avoid any potential copyright infringement. They quickly got to work, and on August 27, 2022, they released their first full-length album Omegalitikum.
The band plays progressive death metal with a helping of groove. The drums are played by Andyan Gorust. He has had a long and illustrious career in the Indonesian brutal death metal scene, and his immense talent is put on full display here. His blast beats are fast, focused, and delivered with perfect precision. The same is true of his many mid-paced rhythms, which also feature plenty of strong double bass. All of these different patterns are then punctuated by complex fills. Bonny Sidharta plays the bass. His intricate performance gives the music an even greater sense of depth and impact.
Daniel Mardhany handles vocal duties. His growls are hoarse but ferocious. I enjoyed his performance ten years ago on Profanatik and I still enjoy his work now. Coki Bollemeyer handles guitar duties, and he's just as incredible as ever. Starting off the album with ominous clean guitar passages, he proceeds to unleash strong power chords, palm-muted riffs, and tremolo riffs. Interspersed between these are elaborate prog riffs that sweep and swerve and give the music a sense of unpredictability. The most notable examples of this can be found on "Overdosis Otoritas" and "Animisme Digital". He also includes some fantastic solos.
I can't believe I haven't listened to this album until recently. Omegalitikum is filled with fantastic instrumental work and clever songwriting. It is equal parts aggressive and magical. It is the finely tuned expression of men who have become masters of their craft. The Indonesian metal scene continues to amaze.