How To Destroy Angels – An Omen EP

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/howtodestroyangelsanomenep.jpg" alt="How To Destroy Angels : An Omen EP" /><br /> In recent years, with the dawn of his film composing career, Trent Reznor has developed an affinity...
8.8 Columbia
2012 

How To Destroy Angels : An Omen EP
In recent years, with the dawn of his film composing career, Trent Reznor has developed an affinity for making music that sets moods and evokes emotion more so than quite possibly any other point in his long career.  The songs on his band How To Destroy Angels’ new EP An Omen are similar to what he has been doing as of late for the films The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  They are very emotive and tone setting.

The cool thing about How To Destroy Angels is the presence of Reznor’s wife Mariqueen Maandig on lead vocals.  Her voice has a quality to it that adds to the haunting aspect of this music.  Many of the tracks on this release don’t feature vocals in the traditional sense, but more of an ambient sense.  Take, for instance, the song “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”.  It features only Maandig’s vocals as she sort of “oohs” and “aahs” on top of exquisitely layered synthesizers.  In addition, some of the songs do feature Reznor on vocals as well, but he graciously takes a step back from lead duties to make room for his wife, who, again, fits this style well.

Probably the best song on An Omen is “Ice Age”.  It really is brilliant with its simple collection of instruments and piano.  Those are coupled with Maandig’s vocals and make it a really interesting and oddly catchy track.  The EP closes with another equally amazing, yet creepy song entitled “Speaking In Tongues”.  It features lots of auxiliary percussion and Maandig and Reznor more so chanting the lyrics rather than singing them.

Overall, An Omen is 100% stronger than How To Destroy Angels’ self-titled debut EP, which was released back in 2010.  It feels more focused and like all of the songs point toward the same thing.

Releasing this collection of songs as an EP was a perfect decision.  With Reznor’s promise of a full-length album having loomed on the horizon for years now, his decision to put out yet another EP was an interesting one.  But An Omen is just the right length and amount of music to leave listeners wanting more and completely enjoying what is there.  Maybe this is one of those bands that would be best suited releasing a song or a few at a time.  Either way, An Omen is one of this year’s stronger releases.

How To Destroy Angels – Ice Age

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