You know you’re in for a treat when the tags “ambient experimental free jazz improv metal noise post rock” show up on bandcamp, and when the band respects the tags they’ve used! Omniataxia’s been on my computer for quite a while, and I might have unconsciously forgotten about it until the blind hand of the music randomizer chose the song Scatterwhite and gently played it to me. Half-asleep, I wondered what that band was whose uncommon manners almost just woke me out of bed. And this is not an easy task. I kept that in memory however, and when I did wake up, I checked what was that band who played such wonderful music. There it was, Omniataxia… A quick research on the blog taught me that I have never even said a word about the band here. Shame on me!!! But let me repair the damage that’s been done.

With the guitar and drums duo Omniataxia, each song is a different experience. The three songs that are on the eponymous EP all share a few elements, but are strongly distinct from one another. Xodoxobox is the shortest one, but also the most restless. Tempo and time signature change with no respect to one another while being pounded by a heavy drum and a crushing guitar. Ophiocordyceps is between the two in every respect : length, feeling, harshness, name it. While Scatterwhite, the long one, clocking in at almost 14 minutes, uses ambience and experimentation at its own benefit. Sometimes the drums will just go on their own, and other times all that there will be is atmospheric sounds.

It is not without mentioning the musicianship and skills of both of the band members. The whole album feels like an improvised jam, although definitely sounds like a written piece. I wouldn’t know which one is the most prominent, but in the end what matters is that this is one hell of a good recording.