The metal foodies of At The Plates have released the follow-up to their 2020 debut Starch Enemy. Apparently that record fell behind the stove at Zware Metalen, because we didn’t bake a review of it. Thematically you have to take the band, and also this new album Omnivore, with a grain of salt. The three gentlemen are still cooking like crazy. However compared to the debut, the writing process has been a bit more serious. At least that is what Tony Rouse, who provides guitar, drums and bass on Omnivore, says. He himself was confronted with health problems and a number of serious complications which forced him to adjust his lifestyle.
It helped the Americans to find a recipe to make Omnivore taste best. We take a generous portion of 90’s death metal from Gothenburg, two small cups of Floridian death metal, one and a half tablespoons of New York death and finally two carefully leveled teaspoons of dissonant black metal à la Deathspell Omega. Stir everything together in a black metal bowl, put in the oven for 20 minutes at 666 degrees and voila: you have an idea of what to expect when you listen to this At The Plates.
The central theme of the album is “you are what you eat”, while the Americans still maintain a brutal sound and deliver fairly light-hearted lyrics. Often with a nod to a number of other and bigger bands. What about Roastwell 47 (Roswell 47 – Hypocrisy) or Terminal Filet Disease (Terminal Spirit Disease – At The Gates)? Now you don’t have to guess where the band name comes from! Yes, these rascals are very clever indeed.
But now back to the music itself. Actually, on Omnivore this band does exactly what you expect from the description: serving up hot and spicy (no, that’s not the same!) songs, usually in less bite-sized chunks. The guitar lines often serve as dissonant amuse-bouche, with or without the accompanying cooking sounds, such as the lighting of the gas prior to With Their Cutlets, He’ll Marinate or the bubbling fryer at the end of Into Everlasting Fryer. And if you read it like this, I can vividly imagine that your first impression is “how easy”, but these effects are actually well thought out and placed here. And of course the band members don’t have to look that far when the titles themselves are so obvious. But in terms of songwriting I hear that a lot of attention has been paid to detail. Something we often see and taste in the kitchen, when it comes to a complete experience. And that is exactly what Omnivore has to offer as far as I am concerned
I’d like to mention the drumming during Kitchen Gone and the mean vocals too. This trio is bloodthirsty in Punish My Waistline when a slow opening derails into a not to be missed kitchen scene with wooden ladles that function as drumsticks. Hard and soft touches are tastefully alternated and combined after which the wonderfully scented riffs complete the recipe to perfection. The cooking time of more than four and a half minutes is more than sufficient here. Nobody wants an overcooked dish. Now, we really have to exercise a little more patience, because the longest and best course needs a little more time to touch the taste buds: Terminal Filet Disease. And as if this is really the end, the trio serve up its most high-quality and refined notes. Please realize that we are not even halfway through yet, there will be no less than six more courses after this. Well, five and a half if we define Into Everlasting Fryer as a side dish. And with forty-seven minutes of dining, this is not a fast food feast to satisfy your hunger in between two meals.
The title track follows the four previously consumed courses with crisp guitar work. Omnivore clearly serves as a resting point here, to catch your breath after some very special food. The acoustic delicacies are grilled on an electric stove, the preparation time for which only takes about three minutes of your time. Roastwell 47 is as brutal and juicy as its name suggests. A flattened steak served melodiously with red peppers. The chopped blasts fly around during this course of the dinner. Ideal for the barbecue, your editor would think. The somewhat compulsive Open Buffet Surgery leaves little to the imagination. The famous food festival where you can eat as much as you want. Although in buffet form so you are guaranteed to have eaten too much at the end of the ride. However, there is not too much of this song because in four and a half minutes you can easily sit and stand this course out. The diversity of food is not unprecedented but it is more than enough to let you headbang to different metric accents.
Score:
90/100
Label:
Eigen beheer, 2024
Tracklisting:
- With Their Cutlets, He’ll Marinate
- Kitchen Gone
- Punish My Waistline
- Terminal Filet Disease
- Omnivore
- Roastwell 47
- Open Buffet Surgery
- Incarnated Syrup Abuse
- Into Everlasting Fryer
- Northern Frites
Line-up:
- Tony Rouse – Guitar, drums, bass guitar
- Tyler McCarthy – Guitar
- Mario Alejandro – Vocals
Link: