03/07/2022
Bad Omens
The Fillmore
Minneapolis, MN

Bad Omen hit the road in support of their brand new album, “The Death of Peace of Mind” and as touring support for Underoath. The brand new album is one monstrously incredible song after another. With it being a break from previous recordings it opened the door for their shows to have a larger ambience. The classic Bad Omens heaviness is present at every turn, but vocalist Noah Sebastian really used the album to showcase he can sing a bit more than normal. This is growth where a lot of people conflate it for some other nonsense. This is professionalism and song writing at its peak. Overall, it translated extremely well to their live performance. I do know this was one thing that pretty much everyone I talked to in line was pretty much curious about. They were also curious if it would flow seamlessly with the older tunes. It clearly did. 

Sebastian, walked out onto the pitch black stage by himself and slowly started singing the intro to “The Death of Peace of Mind”. After getting through the first verse the stage illuminated in red and the rest of the band were placed in their prospective spots.  Once the drums hit, the lights flip consistently through blue and red. Sebastian paces the entire set from left to right and occasionally pauses to scream in the microphone or at the crowd. During “Artificial Suicide” his alter ego arrived wearing a black full faced mask with the bands logos stitched dead center on his fore head. He had the poise of a seasoned musician. Behind him drummer, Nick Folio, crushed the skins. Everything popped so cleanly and with such a vibration you felt it. His bass kicks slammed perfectly in sync with every lighting shift. His performance was extremely noticeable to those in attendance. 

Joakim Karlsson and Nicholas Ruffilo were lethal. Ruffilo is so consistent with the bass and that thundering sometimes drowns out the guitars. You can tell this was done intentionally for atmosphere. Despite this, Karlsson, remains in a rather solitary position on the right side of the stage. Riff for Riff his hair flows back and forth while head banging. Across the stage, his counterpart moved around and often gave solid glances across the room. They were very disciplined in their movements. These things were obviously designed and deliberately done. It worked well.

The setlist brought focus to their song writing and abilities to move across the genre with a comfort in their growth as a foursome. That was never more apparent than their choice of 4 new songs right off the bat. Each was was a banger in their own right and uniquely different. The setlist was only 7 songs, so the clearly picked through their catalog for maximum impact. They nailed it. Their final three songs are going to be in their setlists for a long time. Those were the songs that created their buzz. I couldn’t have been anymore pleased to have been there. I drove 4 and a half hours to see this show and it was one of the most worthwhile things I have done lately. I cannot wait for their return to the Upper Midwest. I have truly become a massive fan. Such an incredible show.

Setlist:
1. The Death of Peace of Mind
2. Artificial Suicide
3. Like A Villain
4. What Do You Want From Me?
5. Never Know
6. Limits
7. Dethrone