ALBUM REVIEW ~ PROJECT 86 ~ 'OMNI (PART 1)'

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Hardcore ensemble Project 86 is embarking on an ambitious new two-part album with the first installment, Omni, Part One released on March 24th. The 12 tracks act as the opener and rising action in a complex futuristic narrative with themes that mirror the current conversation surrounding artificial intelligence. This sci-fi/horror music experience is the band’s first endeavor into storytelling, but the ideas that the plot presents are not foreign to their long-time fans.

Formed in 1996, Project 86 has experimented with and refined its unique mixture of electric and doom metal across eleven studio albums. The final evolution of their sound, as presented on Omni, is as minatory as it is intense, crossing into nu metal while retaining their distinct tone. The band is providing a close and personal look at the making of Omni on their Patreon, where lead singer Andrew Schwab also hosts the Pioneers Podcast: Finding Your Creative Voice. While the behind-the-scenes look is helpful to better understand the highly complex plot in the album, the music does a remarkably good job of establishing place, time, and theme all on its own.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y4nt76LEk9s%3Ffeature%3Dyoutu.be

Project 86 has always centered its material around the criticism of societal norms with vaguely religious undertones, but Omni takes these elements to their zenith in a dystopian future comparable to Terminator or, more recently, West World. In this high-concept cautionary tale, humans have reached the point of convergence where we can seamlessly connect with AI. This monumental achievement has also coincided with man’s victory over mortality, but without the fear of death, will we lose our humanity? Or, as the opening of the album suggests with its repeating line “As below so above,” will Hell converge with Earth? This line in particular stood out to me, not only because it sets the tone for the entire project, but because it is a cleverly haunting reversal of the final line in The Lord’s Prayer, “On Earth as it is in Heaven.”

Creating a narrative concept album is risky. Conveying an ambitious and complicated plot in that album is even riskier, but the band makes use of their extensive knowledge of literature and classic sci-fi to help fans grasp the gravity and magnitude of their story. The many allusions (not all biblical) throughout the story deepen the narrative and act as visual aids for the listener while the plot expands to include the two sci-fi essentials, AI and aliens. Just the name “Metatropolis,” the sixth song on the album, evokes images of Fritz Lang’s battle of organic versus inorganic while adding the additional layer of a malevolent metaverse, or possibly even a reference to the Hebrew figure Metatron as recently seen in His Dark Materials. The hints of Paradise Lost also elevate the story in a fun way and (I hope) are foreshadowing for what’s to come on the album that follows.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DrNrD1oz0sM%3Ffeature%3Dyoutu.be

Whether you’re a fan of metal, sci-fi, or horror, this first installment in the two-part project is well-worth a listen and has me very excited to hear the end of the story on the next album. Omni, Part One is now available to stream and download. Check out their video for “Metatropolis” and check in at Project 86’s Patreon for more information about the forthcoming part two.

I’m Music Magazine Writer Kayleigh Rongey