OSMIUM GATE

OSMIUM GATE     “Cannibal Galaxy”

By Dr. Abner Mality

Instrumental metal is notoriously difficult to pull off. A lot of times, the lack of vocals leaves a huge gap in the listener’s mind that can’t be filled. And many instrumental bands tend to emphasize either excessive technicality or colossal song length in their playing.

OSMIUM GATE from Salt Lake City have definitely overcome those issues with “Cannibal Galaxy”. Their songs have a ton of energy and don’t drift around waiting for things to happen; the drumming of Rene Gomez is fierce and almost overpowering throughout, injecting constant forward movement. And despite the band using the same dumb font on their name that every tech-death band in the world has, they are closer in spirit to black metal than tech death. It’s a style they call “cosmic metal” and they do indeed conjure up some spacy vibes here.

The tunes are also compact and flow really well. The opener “Waters of Natron” sets the stage beautifully, as this has both aggression and a kind of celestial vibe. I really think this is the best song, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the tunes are a let down. They all balance speedy riffs that are reminiscent of black metal without actually being black metal, if that makes sense, with a sense of exploration and a touch of progressive metal. “Whale Fall” is another stand out track that is what CYNIC would sound like if they had balls.  “Blood Rain” has a bit more darkness and brutality while “Lights Over Hessdalen” finishes things with an angular kind of bite.

I didn’t miss vocals one minute on “Cannibal Galaxy” and there are very few instru-metal bands I can say that about. A nice surprise from OSMIUM GATE!

OSMIUM GATE