All prophesies point to a future defined by a less humane existence void of moral justice or historicity as subsequent generations calloused by unceasing warfare and indoctrinated by corporatist technology are rendered remorseless, corrupt and culture-void. In their infinite wisdom Germany-based black/death metal band OMEGAVORTEX express as the sawblade across borders, the revelator of the nightmare to come, as they tip the scales toward scenes of doom and downfall on this potent sophomore full-length album. Frenzied to the point of kinetic chaos yet controlled in its directive ‘Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order‘ seeks to burn away the delusions of those held captive by gods and government before grinding against their wounds. Though it is an experience of mayhemic blackened death veering into war-torn terror these folks’ve not left behind their ancient death-thrashing spiritus so much as accelerated it into horrified greyscale firestorm.

Omegavortex formed in 2017 by way of vocalist/guitarist R. (ex-Beyond) as a continuation of the thread started in Ambevilence back in 2007 which’d intended a most pure emanation of death tied to what he describes as limitless extreme music. The full suite of their pre-debut material can be found on the ‘Spectral Blackness‘ compilation. You can read a bit more about the early history of the band in my review of the band’s debut LP (‘Black Abomination Spawn‘, 2020) as well as the philosophy and methodology behind their work in an extensive interview I’d done with the band around that album’s release. It was one of the best albums of that year, and probably should’ve been much higher than #46 on my Top 100 Albums of 2020 as I blame the dementia of the times on many choices made. Their descriptions of intended outcomes as paranormal death metal are exciting in the context of keen sight beyond canon, carrying the locus of death metal’s core purpose and the traditions of riffcraft (Possessed, Necrovore, etc.) while finding their own unreal, overwhelmingly achieved devices to push the extremes available. When faced with horror and chaotic mania achieved with a focus on accelerating a classics-built riff hand the mind might naturally go to ‘Fatal Power of Death‘ by quick association, a comparatively cavernous warlike feature, but the only comparable band in terms of volatility and serious extremity today is the already quite different Concrete Winds.

The preface of this second full-length work is suggested as carrying the tradition of the extremist antagonist, the not-at-all welcoming violence of a band setting themselves against the comfortably deceptive corporatization of extreme metal into “safe” mundane tropes both musical and ideological. That is to suggest that Omegavortex aren’t delivering throwback entertainment so much as feats of injurious, abrasive death metal which are reflective of the reality here-and-now as they see it without losing the throttled edge of the early 80’s own brave new world of limitless expansion. While blackened death metal and “war metal” often comically purport to arrive upon similar purpose here the method is outrageously skilled, outraged in delivery and a mind-bending thrill to experience as ‘Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order‘ reflects the intensifying pressurization of humanity into oblivion and in under ~34 minutes.

The global tempo is up, again, and this shouldn’t come as a surprise as the band’s split with Pious Levus (‘From the Void Comes Paranormal Death‘, 2022) already suggested noisier, heated mania at an insane level of accost which blurred the lines between primordial deathgrind and the loose-necked black/death spawn adjacent. What those songs generally lacked was a sense of death metal groove, the type of riffs that ‘Black Abomination Spawn‘ had been built upon over years of refinement. What we find on ‘Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order‘ is a simultaneous amping of tempo once more while yet allowing a full dynamic to arrive within these often short and quick-tempered songs. The havoc of opener “Dystopian Worldrape” reflects both the scraping reel of Omegavortex‘ 2022 released material and an acceleration of what we found on their debut, almost blowing through its ideas too quickly before moving on. That is maybe my one major criticism here is that I could totally fall into the depths of horror of that first album whereas this second one shoves me forward, punching me in the back of the skull any time I linger in the moment.

The captivity suggested by that visual is intentional as I’ve long spoken about the tunnel vision available to extreme metal, particularly machinations rooted in the core mechanism of riff-obsessed thrashing death metal, and how this can and should still apply to serious works. In the case of Omegavortex their work is deceptively animalistic yet smartly funnels the ear down its hall of nails and beration with an uncanny sense of narration developing over the course. Sure the effect is something like the electrified slashing of Portal‘s ‘Ion‘ given to ‘World Downfall‘ as they punt out a few death-thrashing grooves along the way but this is only the moment the fire is lit. From that point the grinding mania of ‘Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order‘ does not relent in generating both hysteria surrounding readable forms, mutating the speed metal song structure of early death metal into bestial mashing attack (“Unidentified Evil”, “Limitless Violence”, “Horrorslaughter”) while alternating a sort of deathgrind heave, such as the intro to “Feeding Upon Blackness” or the shred through standout “Psychopathic Majesty”; All arrives with direction here though the first several pieces here embrace their chaotic depiction of psychic warfare with a truly fearsome intensity.

The build toward “Psychopathic Majesty” and the sort of 80’s hardcore punk/grindcore stomp of certain shapes to me pings in mind via the core memory of Cryptic Slaughter‘s ‘Convicted‘, a similar volley through seeming summary execution of its own parent sub-genre at the time, where the DNA of a mangled zeitgeist was calculated in myriad variations and repurposed into intentionally maddening creations with a current message. Of course Omegavortex‘ sound is extremely different but the effect is similarly surreal several generations removed from their own inspirations/foundations while working outside of the constraints of one “established” sub-genre headspace. This is the core stamp of ‘Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order‘ on my skull as an experience of horrified, face-whipping aggression meant to stymie the mind with conviction and prepare the listener for the nightmare existence that is coming in the not-at-all distant future.

Most of that impact is felt within the album’s core nine pieces, short and crushed-out bullies which do not reflect some of the more patient ‘old school’ affections of Omegavortex‘ previous LP, without providing any real point of anchor or rest for the year on the plunge. The exception is the eight+ minute closer “World Extermination Agenda”, a miserable opus which incorporates slower burning parts to generate tension to vault off of into extremely dense tirades. This is the real cough into the face of the listener, demanding a few dips into patient atmospheric scald ’til applying some of their coarsest sandpaper to the wound in waves. The album doesn’t simply end but rather explores its maniacal thesis in its own torturous way and this makes for a more profound endpoint than a serious of 2-3 shorter pieces might’ve especially as they’ve well familiarized the listener with their riff-hand by the mid-point of the full listen.

While I generally prefer some of the guitar arrangements and general screed found on ‘Black Abomination Spawn‘ I did ultimately appreciate the reactionary pivot found in the band’s work since MMXX and if there is an apex predatorial vision beyond that album it is naturally found within the surreal grinding vortex of ‘Diabolic Messiah of the New World Order‘. Omegavortex are among the absolute best creating this level of craft with any seriousness anymore, generating their own nigh inadvisable cacophony here without a lazy or under-thought attack within the greater melee of this experience. Notes on production values and layout come secondary to the greater effect here but I would at least suggest this is the best capture of the band’s sound to date, allowing plenty of finer details to emerge within the bestial barrage it intends to be. A very high recommendation.

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