Oni were an Australian band that briefly existed between 1997 and 2003. During that period the band released two short demos and a few splits that featured songs from those demos. The entirety of their work has now been compiled into a single album and showcases the raw potential of a band that should have stuck together for a full length.
Thematically inspired by Japanese mythology and the writings of legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, the band sought to incorporate those influences into a style that seesaws between the percussive NYDM style and full blown brutal death metal. While the oriental influence is mainly shown in the intros and outros of the songs, the second half of the album attempts to incorporate them into the heart of the songs. “Seppuku Blade” features a shakuhachi flute that harmonizes with the guitars before the chromatic tremolo picked riffs rear their heads and then progressing to a really satisfying conclusion where the shakuhachi flute returns to enrich the slower more pensive final riff.
Structurally the band avoid the riff salad approach by sticking to alternating pairs of riffs that contrast each other well. “Creature of Chaos” is the most obvious example by pushing a chugging riff against a hectic brutal death metal melody. The song progresses within that dichotomy but the band keep things interesting with slight variations that imbue the song with forward momentum. Where the band really shine though is in their unconventional harmonies like on “Incantation Superstition” and “Herald to Hell on Earth” which feature complex dissonant melodies stacked on top of each other that slowly shift together. Those segments convey a certain gravity and genuine “brutality” that is often missing in this style.
Incantation Superstition features some unique ideas that are never quite fully given the importance or time that they deserve. One can only imagine that if the band made an album perfecting those ideas that it would possibly be a classic of this subgenre but Oni still leave behind a very worthy compilation that stands above most of its competitors through their willingness to experiment with concepts that would seem alien on a brutal death metal album.
