Ethereal Metal

Ryan Murray | Co-Owner | Chief Editor | Contributor | Photographer

r.m.music84@gmail.com

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Nearly three decades in, Omnium Gatherum aren’t just burning bridges, they’re lighting the entire skyline. On their tenth studio album, May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way, Finland’s melodic death metal stalwarts channel every ghost, triumph, and scar that’s defined their journey since 1996. The result is 45 minutes of distilled fire: a perfect storm of heavy metal grit, melodic grandeur, and that inescapable Finnish melancholy that could freeze and melt your heart in the same verse.

Markus Vanhala, ever the architect of atmosphere, describes this album as a reflection of “every era of OG,” and it shows. These songs sound both lived-in and revitalized, as if the band broke through the ice of memory to find something burning underneath. It’s the sound of a veteran act rediscovering why they fell in love with riffs, roar, and rage in the first place. And somehow, they’ve never sounded more alive.

The record sparks to life with its haunting title track, May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way, a slow ignition that flickers between melancholy and defiance. It’s the sound of reflection before the inferno — an invocation that sets the emotional tone for everything to come.

Then comes The Last Hero, the album’s first single and emotional detonation. The Last Hero is an anthem of resilience and rebellion that sticks from the first listen. It’s pure OG: equal parts precision and passion, its melody wrapping itself around Jukka Pelkonen’s roar like armor. The song’s underdog energy mirrors the band itself—resilient, uncompromising, and fueled by the quiet pride of survival. When Markus Vanhala’s solo tears through the mix, it feels like the culmination of 30 years of fight, distilled into six burning strings.

From there, My Pain and The Darkest City extend the record’s emotional depth. The former seethes with tension—a fusion of sharp-edged riffs and a mournful melodic undercurrent that feels both personal and universal. The latter, ironically the song that reignited Vanhala’s creative spark, simmers with cinematic tension. It’s urban decay turned musical: synths shimmer like broken neon, guitars crash like collapsing buildings, and through it all, Pelkonen’s vocals embody the voice of the city itself. Tired, defiant, and beautifully doomed.

Omnium Gatherum have always had a way of making despair sound strangely comforting. Walking Ghost Phase is one of those songs. Slow-burning, grief-laden, but full of motion, as if propelled by some invisible wind. The track’s exploration of addiction and loss feels painfully human, its chorus carrying the quiet ache of those who’ve seen too much but still keep walking.

Lyrically, May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way feels more stripped-down than any OG release before it. Gone are the esoteric abstractions of early albums; in their place are gritty street-level tales, dreamers and drifters, heroes and hypocrites, all clawing through the chaos of modern life. It’s not political, it’s personal. These stories don’t preach, they bleed.

Even the album title was born from a stranger’s hoodie in a Chinese airport, a moment Vanhala describes as “jet-lagged poetry.” And in a way, that phrase perfectly captures Omnium Gatherum’s essence: weary but inspired, scarred but still burning. Every chord and chorus feels like a step through that fire, carrying the lessons of the past forward.

Ignite the Flame brings the album’s core philosophy to life. It’s a rousing anthem of brotherhood and rebellion that feels tailor-made for the stage. It’s heavy metal distilled into pure momentum, as if Iron Maiden had crash-landed in the heart of the Finnish winter. Then there’s Streets of Rage, which lives up to its title with mechanical precision and feral aggression, a track that brims with clenched fists and streetlight fury.

Production-wise, this is the sharpest they have ever sounded. Mixed and mastered by longtime collaborators Jens Bogren and Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios, the album achieves the holy grail of melodic death metal tone—massive, detailed, yet completely human. You can feel the sweat in the riffs, the frost in the atmosphere, and the heartbeat behind every double-kick.

The decision to record vocals through the SSL console used on Queen’s ‘Innuendo’ adds a surreal layer of legacy. And with Björn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork co-producing and even lending his voice to the gang shouts, there’s a newfound confidence in the vocal performances. Pelkonen sounds positively possessed, his guttural command offset beautifully by Vanhala’s newly sharpened clean vocals, both of which carry that unmistakable blend of power and sorrow.

Barricades stands tall among the album’s highlights, a melodic call-to-arms for every underdog still standing after the storm. Its chorus is all catharsis and conviction—an explosive reminder that OG can make triumph sound tragic and tragedy sound triumphant.

Even the closing track, Road Closed Ahead, manages to turn finality into defiance. It’s the perfect curtain call for an album obsessed with survival and forward motion. You can almost see the headlights disappearing into fog as the last notes fade, with one road closing and another already opening in the distance.

Three decades in, May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way is more than a milestone, it’s a manifesto. It’s the sound of a band reaffirming its core, sharpening every element that made them essential, and daring to evolve without losing soul.

There’s no fatigue, no going through the motions. Just seasoned musicians with something to prove and the fire to back it up. The riffs are relentless, the melodies soar, the lyrics cut, and the production punches like cold steel to the chest.

“Adult-Oriented Death Metal” may have started as a joke, but this album embodies exactly what that means: sophisticated, emotionally resonant, and crafted by artists who’ve lived long enough to understand both the fire and the fallout.

When Pelkonen growls “ignite the flame,” you believe him. When Vanhala solos, it’s as if every note carries the ghosts of the past while also carrying their blessing.

Omnium Gatherum may have walked through fire, but on May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way, they’ve emerged illuminated.

VERDICT: 4.5/5.0