This may come as a surprise to you, but I’m not an avid follower of Post-Doom/Doom Metal. As I explained elsewhere in the review for Two Suns by Colosalist – a folk metal band, but the point remains the same – there are so many different flavoured genres in this thing of ours that some will inevitably fall by the wayside as: A) I am only one man and B) There are only 24 hours in a day.
Yet, the good thing about running the Black Metal Archives is that I get sent all sorts of different albums and EP’s and this is helping me expand my horizons, even now when I’m closer to the grave than the cradle.
Recently I was sent a copy of Om Moksha Ritam by Insomniac – the Atlanta based Post-Doom band – and as I review everything that crosses my virtual desk… eventually… I sat down, cranked my headphones up to 11, and decided to throw myself, mind, body, and spirit, into the deep waters that spread out before me.
Now the question is, did I swim or did I drown?
I’m just going to cut to the chase here. I fucking love this record.
Yes, I know, another review where I wax lyrical about a band instead of sticking the boots to them, but I can’t help it. This album is an eye opener for me and one that has me frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog to discover even more Post-Doom to see if the whole subgenre is this good, or if Insomniac are just an anomaly of utter brilliance.
What hits me first about Om Moksha Ritam is just how confidently it strides into its own space. This isn’t an album that feels like it’s trying to imitate, pander, or hedge its bets. From the opening notes of Meditation, there’s this strange gravity to it — a slow, deliberate pull that drags you under, not violently, but with the calm assurance of something ancient and inevitable. It’s heavy, yes — but not in that blunt, battering-ram way that Doom sometimes leans on. Instead, there’s a subtlety here, a sense of dynamics and emotional pacing that suggests these guys understand restraint just as much as release.
The production deserves a nod as well. It’s thick without being suffocating, atmospheric without getting lost in its own haze. The guitars sound massive — layered, textured, with enough grit to keep them grounded but enough clarity to let the melodies breathe. The bass hums like a subterranean current, ever-present, and the drums? They don’t just keep time; they carve out moments, knowing when to hold back and when to drop like a hammer.
Vocally, it’s less about dominating the mix and more about becoming part of it — almost chant-like in places, almost mournful in others, never overstaying its welcome but always adding another emotional layer to the storm. This is music as ritual, as catharsis.
But maybe the most impressive thing about Om Moksha Ritam is how it moves. Doom — Post-Doom especially — can fall into the trap of stasis, where every track feels like a variation on the same dirge. Not here. There’s a real journey to this record. Peaks and valleys, moments of crushing weight offset by passages that feel almost meditative, even spiritual. It breathes — and in doing so, it lets you breathe with it.By the time it closed, I wasn’t sure if I’d swum or drowned — maybe both.
Maybe that’s the point.
Insomniac haven’t just made a good record; they’ve made a record that changes you, that leaves you altered, even if just slightly, on the other side of it. And that’s rare.
So, where does that leave me? Probably knee-deep in Bandcamp tabs, ready to see what other treasures this corner of metal has been hiding from me all these years. But more importantly, it leaves me with a deep respect for a band willing to walk their own path, carve their own sound, and invite the rest of us to step into the dark with them.
Om Moksha Ritam by Insomniac is available now from Blues Funeral Recordings.
CHOICE CUT: Awakening
RATING: 4 OUT OF 5
RATING SYSTEM:
- 0: Fucking Shit
- 1: Shit
- 2: Not Bad Shit
- 3: Pretty Good Shit
- 4: Amazing Fucking Shit
- 5: The Best Shit You Will Ever Hear
PRESS SOURCE: Purple Sage PR.
