Ohmphrey – Ohmphrey

Album Reviews • Wednesday July 1st, 2009 • 11:21 am

Having never heard of Ohm, but being quite familiar with Umphrey’s McGee, I was anticipating an album heavy on jam. Had I realized that Ohm is the creation of a former Megadeth guitarist, I would’ve had a better idea of what to expect. Rather than being jam heavy Deadhead music, the album is simply heavy. It is an entirely instrumental album. Extremely guitar laden and simply constructed, there are moments of enjoyable music and technical skill mixed in with what could best be described as a circle jerk with Joe Satriani (who had nothing to do with this album by the way.)

The album opens with “Someone Said You Were Dead.” From the heavy metal drum work to the equally heavy metal squealing and screaming guitar, I realized that this was not the hippie album I had originally anticipated. Metal is known more for being more driving force than melody and this song definitely falls into the metal category. Obviously an Ohm written song. “The Girl From Chi Town” balances out the opening track with it’s shimmering guitar lines and jazzy, jam band feel. Still solidly rock and roll, it, like most of the songs on the album morphs (or degenerates, depending on your point of view) into something that is more metal than man. Thankfully, this song actually has moments of tenderness and slightly less testosterone than the preceding song. Obviously an Umphrey’s contribution.

“Denny’s By The Jail” starts in a simple, psychedelic way, kind of like what one might imagine a jail-side Denny’s to be. Again, this song has hippie leanings but the repetitive guitar line shies away from the jam and seems like the musicians are just going through the motions. A rolling drum line starts off “Ice Cream” as the guitars actually drip and melt before, again, turning into something heavier. Do they make granite flavored ice cream? A keyboard opens “Lake Shore Drive” as the guitars meander here and there. There is an improvisational quality to this song, but the lead guitar is a bit whiney and difficult to listen to at times. This could equally describe the next track “Not Afraid Of The Dark.” The fact that most of the album has a dark underpinning, underscores the fact that they are indeed, not afraid of the dark.

“Shrooms ‘n Cheese” follows. Finally, a hippie track. The song has a killer bass line and, like many on the album, actually reflects the title: trippy and slightly cheesy. This is probably the most jammy song on the album and found me getting into a good groove, unfortunately right before the album ends. “What’s The Word, Thunderbird” is heavier, more like the beginning of the album rather than the end of it.

While I am supportive of musical collaborations of mixed genres, metal and jam is sadly not as tasty as peanut butter and jam. Despite the obvious technical skill of the musicians, the music itself is rather lackluster. Too metal for the hippies and too jammy for the metalheads, this album never really finds it’s audience. Despite my misgivings, there are several salvageable moments scattered throughout the album. The press states that this is Ohmphrey’s debut album but this would be better off as a one-shot than an ongoing collaboration. Then again, if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

Tagged as: California, Chicago, Metal, Rock