When it comes to the technical-brutal death metal arena, few bands can lay claim to a having a bigger influence than Origin.  Their blasting, hyperactive take on the genre is one that sends mere mortals running for cover and leave listeners and aspiring musicians constantly asking “how the hell do they pull this stuff off?”  Their previous 2 releases, Antithesis and Entity, border on tech-death masterpieces.  They’re now on their sixth full length album and are still dominant, but starting to show some kinks in their armor.

Album opener “All Things Dead” is tried and true Origin, with rousing blasts, double bass and warp speed arpeggios and sweeps filling the air, all played at breakneck speed.  Fans of the last two albums will smile with a sense of familiarity.  At just over a minute, “Thrull:Fulcrum:Apex” could almost be considered a grind song, and has to hit 1000 bpm before a tasty chug riff that’s bound to cause a stir in the pits. “Permanence” is a short instrumental break, with a sweeping guitar riff played over the drums.

The next three tracks zoom by with each one getting progressively shorter, before getting another instrumental break with the synth-backed guitars on “Continuum”.  I’ve never been a big fan of breaks like these in my tech-death, and this particular stylistic choice doesn’t change that opinion.  “Unattainable Zero” shows a nice mix of tempos, before ending with a filthy, drawn out breakdown closer that is a better break from all the chaos than both of the previous instrumentals combined.  There are more frantic tracks and another instrumental break with “Obsolescence” before the band closes out with “The Indiscriminate”.

All in all “Omnipresent” is another worthy addition to Origin’s catalog, but suffers a bit in the songwriting department.  If you don’t like the seizure inducing speed and all angles attack that Origin have nearly perfected, this one won’t make you a fan.  However, the lyrics themselves are very intelligently written and are based around humanity and its often twisted ambitions and a never-ending battle with the natural forces of earth and the universe.

The musicianship as always is top notch, with drummer John Longstreth the star of the show.  The fills, manic blasts, and flat out double bass speed he possesses will never cease to impress.  Vocalist Jason Keyser gets some help from bassist Mike Flores and guitarist Paul Ryan to form a three-pronged vocal attack that keeps things fresh in that vein.  Flores’ bass is barely audible, and this album as a whole lacks a bottom end crunch that really should be expected from a band of Origin’s stature; I had to bump up the gain on my sub before it really started to open up and add a bit more impact to the kick drums.  With bands like Omnihility and others making some moves in the underground tech-death scene, Origin needs to stay sharp as this one is very good, but not great.

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