Omega Sun – Roadkill
Omega Sun – Roadkill
No Profit Recordings
Release Date: 08/09/23
Running Time: 38:24
Review by Dark Juan
9/10
Dark Juan is a child of love. I desire the world to let go of its petty little rivalries, and the aggrandizement of little bald KGB Lieutenant- Colonels, overweight, bright orange American ex-presidents with a haircut that resembles a dyed, platinum blonde muskrat seeking a second term just so they can pardon themselves and billionaires who think that greed is good, and anyone who thinks they are better than anyone else. Dark Juan is better than no-one and has only recently started to get over his crushing inferiority complex and impostor syndrome. A street sweeper is arguably a more valuable person to society than a fat cunt sat on a mountain of dollars because they are actually performing a public service rather than hoarding vast wealth that could be put to EXCELLENT use helping the less fortunate. The increasing inequality between the haves and have-nots is something that induces frothing rage in Dark Juan. I’m all for a meritocracy and I appreciate the fact that some people will excel more than others – this is entirely acceptable. What I do not comprehend, however, is someone who will amass FAR more wealth than they could ever expend in a million lifetimes and then do FUCK ALL with it, apart from use it to acquire even more wealth that they can’t get rid of. It defies all sense and decency. Dark Juan is a Socialist (not a Communist, they are totally different things and don’t use the Marxist argument on me either, because Marxism is one mere, rather extreme facet of Socialism) and believes that everyone should get a fairer slice of the pie and all start from the same starting point. No old boy’s networks. No inherited wealth. No paying for private fucking schools which don’t pay tax because they have registered themselves as charities even though they are raking in millions, no more looking down the inbred noses at the lower classes. Eat the rich and redistribute their wealth. Oh, and Jacob Rees-Mogg is the most dangerous man in the Conservative Party. He is a menace to society and must be silenced. Call MI6.
Oops. That wasn’t meant to happen. Still eat the rich though. And one more thing – Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Omega Sun are a Heavy Fuzz Rock band from Slovenia, which, Dark Juan will be honest, is not an apparent hotbed of Fuzz-fuelled Desert Rock enthusiasts. This, however, could just be Dark Juan being an ignorant fuck and Slovenia being a hotbed for this kind of music. This is another of Editor-in-Extremis Simon “One For You, Methinks” Black (yes, he really does talk like a Shakespearean actor. Forsooth) Wild Card selections, which is always a fun thing to receive because I have no idea what I am getting, but he has some amazing inbuilt quality control device that rarely sends me a dud record. So, shall we see what Slovenian Heavy Fuzz Rock sounds like? Let me warm up the tie-dyed, mescaline-fuelled Platter Of Splatter™ and we will play “Roadkill”, being the second full-length release from this intrepid Slovenian power trio.
From the opening notes of ‘The One’, you are struck by the masterful production of the record by Žan “Cigo” Brešan and vocalist/ bassist/ big-brained bastard Igor Kukanja – they have given the album a warm, dry, desert tone. It sounds like the dry tang of Lone Star Beer and the lingering smell of Marlboro Reds on the verandah of a roadside bar at sunset, where the only sound you can hear besides the jukebox indoors is cicadas and the slow ticking of Harley-Davidson V-twin engines cooling after a road trip. It’s biker boots and double denim. It’s a hot dry wind and a universe of previously unseen stars in a desert night. It’s an acid trip in a mesa, miles from any other person or thing and your only companions are the snakes that are somehow speaking to you. It’s communion with the universe through your third eye and simpatico with your own heartbeat. Every instrument sounds like it is vintage and played through the most grizzled of tube-powered amps.
To say Dark Juan is pleasantly surprised is akin to saying Dark Juan likes a drink occasionally. Omega Sun ooze assurance and lazy confidence, and their loose, languid delivery of the songs on this remarkable long player is exactly how Fuzz Rock with a strong Psychedelic edge should be played. The songs can’t be hurried and Igor’s impassioned, emotional howl is the perfect accompaniment to the heavy grooves and monolith riffs. He has a lower ranged delivery than, say, Andrew Stockdale that is easily able to enhance the music rather than overpower it. Album opener ‘The One’ is a sparkling song, all smooth grooves which throws in the odd bit of Smashing Pumpkins guitar dissonance to bung a bit of variety into the lazy, liquid groove of the song. It is very good indeed, sounding like Kyuss, Red Spektor, Sonic Flower, Alice In Chains and Smashing Pumpkins all bumped uglies in the toilets of a particularly seedy dive bar. There’s a tang of motor oil covered jeans, sweat and beer about the whole sound of Omega Sun and Dark Juan fucking LIKES it.
Every song on this album is fucking terrific and not at all samey – the guitar work and soloing of Aris is top notch, searing yet full of emotion and wah-wah overload and the whole thing is a smorgasbord of everything that is great about Stoner/ Fuzz Rock. It’s not crushingly heavy music, and there is melody for days, but it is Heavy Fuzz Rock as it should be played. Standouts are ‘The One’ which has a chorus that only gods could have written, ‘Doomer’ where Stoners go Doom with fairly devastating seismic effects and ‘Black Dust’, where Igor does his absolute finest vocal work, sounding not unlike Jon Oliva in parts.
The band make ridiculously heavy noise for a power trio and this album is so far up Dark Juan’s street it’s actually having a cup of tea with Dark Juan in the kitchen of Crow Cottage and discussing what the plans for the evening are. What an entertaining record this is. Dark Juan exhorts you all to pay attention to Omega Sun, because they are fucking brilliant – they are never boring, even when there are extended middle eights that turn into middle 128s and the obvious enjoyment of the band shines through in their performance throughout the album. Dark Juan will be keeping a close eye on Omega Sun, and so should you!
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System (Patentiran sistem ocenjevanja škropljenja krvi Dark Juan, za naše nove slovenske prijatelje) is delighted to award Omega Sun 9/10 for a record that was unexpectedly splendid.
TRACKLISTING:
01. The One
02. Black Dust
03. Survive
04. Another You
05. Early Morning
06. Doomer
LINE-UP:
Igor Kukanja – Vocals and bass guitar
Aris Demirović – Guitars
Sebastian Vrbnjak – Drums
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dark Juan and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
