The Band
Bad Omens is a metalcore American band. Noah Sebastian began the band in 2015 with some friends, after leaving the band Immoralist, in which he played the guitar.
Band Members
- Noah Sebastian – vocals
- Nicholas Ruffilo – bass
- Joakim Karlsson – guitar
- Nick Folio – drums
The Album
The Death of Peace of Mind is their third studio album. It was released on February 25, 2022.
I got to know the band because my younger sister is a big fan of Bad Omens.
At first, I wanted something heavier, because the singles I listened to were the heavy songs on the album, but as I kept on listening it grew on me, and now I love it.
The album has different styles and heavier songs. Rock songs with nasty breakdowns. And some slow and melodic songs with transitions to heavier parts. Sometimes the same song changes to different styles multiple times. This versatility gives the album an interesting vibe. It sounds consistent as a whole, same sound but keeping each song different, at the same time.
Most of the lyrics deal with relationship issues, toxicity, and abuse. Other songs talk about our current reality, and how alienated we have become with things like social media and our way of living. Noah Sebastian is a fantastic writer.
The Songs
1. Concrete Jungle, has a soft start, but it builds to a heavier song then. A dystopian song about being trapped, living this automatized life in a typical city, like zombies, all mixed with nature sounds.
2. Nowhere To Go, a heavier song.
3. Take Me First, break up song, soft, like a power ballad.
4. The Death of Peace of Mind. The title track and one of my favorites from the album. Break up song, he missed her. Soft, super catchy chorus. Dark and beautiful with a bit of heavier part, harsh vocals, and breakdown, but very short, almost like a tease, and then it comes back to the chorus, perfection.
5. What It Cost, is a super short track, soft, about a heartbreak.
6. Like A Villain, is like the continuation of the previous song. Catchy, I like it. He feels like a villain after the breakup, although it’s not his fault.
7. Bad Decisions, synth-wave ballad, chilled song. Nice and catchy. The Weekend type of vibes.
8. Just Pretend. Another one of my favorites of this album. A power ballad but heavier. About a relationship ending. He wants to go back with her. Harmonies. Super catchy with a sad video. Noah Sebastian said that this song started ironically. He wanted to do a radio song, but it turned out to be a great song.
9. The Grey. Great initial guitar riff. Heavier song. Ending of a relationship. Love the drums here.
10. Who Are You? A chilled, synth-wave song, with R&B vibes. A breakup track.
11. Somebody Else. Another chilled, synth-wave song, with R&B vibes. Relationship problems, deception.
12. IDWT$ (I Don’t Want the Money). More upbeat. Style changes.
13. What Do You Want From Me? Style merges, electronic sounds, synth-wave. Nice guitar riff. He wants her to leave him alone, angry song. It has a 80s, industrial, Nine Inch Nails‘s vibes.
14. Artificial Suicide. The heaviest song of the album starts with heavy, harsh vocals transitions to softer parts, and then the cycle repeats. Angry song with some Korn-type vocals. Great song, love it. About how we are addicted to social media, and we’re always comparing each other with the fake images of perfection, money, etc., that others project. So the idea is to kill your social media character and return to your real life. It has a cyberpunk, robotic futuristic type of video.
15. Miracle. The ambiance and some sounds of this song remind me of Depeche Mode.
Final Thoughts
Most of the songs have multiple changes in rhythm. They usually start soft and have some parts or at the end become heavier with Noah Sebastian‘s harsh vocals, showing the versatility of his voice, going from singing very sweet to metalcore growls.
The whole album is a vibe, with an ambiance sound throughout the album, created by a lot of synthesizers and electronic parts. All of this is mixed with industrial metalcore, heavy bass, amazing drums, and great guitar riffs.
Tracklist
1 Concrete Jungle
2 Nowhere To Go
3 Take Me First
4 The Death Of Peace Of Mind
5 What It Cost
6 Like A Villain
7 Bad Decisions
8 Just Pretend
9 The Grey
10 Who Are You?
11 Somebody Else.
12 IDWT$
13 What Do You Want From Me?
14 Artificial Suicide
15 Miracle