OMENS marks a triumphant return, blending heavy riffs, raw energy, and unforgettable hooks. We caught up with the band to discuss their journey, influences, and what’s next in their resurgence.
1. OMENS
marks a powerful return for you guys. What inspired you to get back together
and start this new chapter?
Mike: I had quit playing music for about
5 years. I hadn't even touched my guitar except for one gig we did with
Jet Set Satellite in 2018. In 2021, Trevor moved back to Winnipeg from
Toronto. We went for a beer one night, and got talking about, if we ever
played together again, what it would look like. And that was the beginning of
OMENS.
2.
Winnipeg has a reputation for being a tough place. How has the city shaped your
music and attitude as a band?
Mike: It's a lot different now than
it was 20 years ago. More random violence. More drugs. More
guns. Personally, i have always steered clear of that culture, but being
in this city definitely lends to the angst in my style of playing. I won't
deny that.
Trev: Winnipeg has an edge to it, and
something about moving back here also awakened something in me as a writer.
Picking up your life after spending several years in one city and moving back
to your hometown—during the pandemic, no less—certainly provided a lot of
fodder for lyrics.
3. Your
album OMENS is packed with heavy riffs, singalong choruses, and raw energy.
What was the vision behind the record?
Mike: I wanted an AC/DC Back in
Black-type album that was a front-to-back listen. Raw. Visceral. Relatable.
Trev: Starting with a clean slate again
meant a freedom to shape a new sound based solely around our musical common
ground, not two or three other guys. Tuning down to C also gave the songs a
unique sonic signature. That lowness really packs a wallop.
4. The
first single, “Black Magic,” has a serious punch to
it. Can you tell us about the song’s meaning and how it came together?
Mike: This one started with me
writing the opening guitar riff, and chorus guitar riff. I write a lot of
my music on acoustic guitar, and record it on my phone. Then I send to
Trevor to add his vocals and
melody. It
definitely captures a certain "magic" for lack of a better term.
Trev: The meanings behind songs are never
a straight story for me; more a tapestry of thoughts and feelings that
intertwine into a general mood. The tension of moving back to Winnipeg and
those old feelings of being back in the place where my friends and I had
created so many dark, heavy, and (dare I say) sexy songs definitely played into
the lyrics though. “Your shadow crossed the line / What’s left of me ain’t
mine” being a rumination on how much of me is because of this cold, hard,
sometimes unforgiving geographical place, and then “Here comes that old black
magic in the air…” speaking to the muse creeping its way back in.
5. You’ve played together before in Jet Set
Satellite. How has your dynamic evolved since then, and what’s different about OMENS?
Mike: I think we've both evolved as songwriters and musicians since those days. I can honestly say I feel like we're writing and producing the best material of our careers with OMENS.
Trev: Same. Though we wrote quite a few
songs together in the past, I think we’ve worked a lot closer, and harder, on
these ones. We were also kids when Jet Set Satellite was in its heyday. We’ve
both been through a lot, wisened up somewhat, made careers for ourselves, and
are generally in a much healthier headspace.
6. Your
sound leans into classic, riff-driven rock but still feels fresh. Who are your
biggest musical influences?
Mike: For me, #1 always has been Metallica. But I won't deny I’m also a huge fan of
Mick Mars. The early Mötley Crüe stuff had an edge to it that was almost
punk. You could also add in Megadeth, Pantera, Slayer, Anthrax, and
sprinkle in some Rammstein for good measure.
Trev: Kyuss, Danzig, Soundgarden, Queens
of the Stone Age, Monster Magnet, and Helmet are very inspirational to this
side of my writing. But Mike and I intersect a lot on most of the bands he just
mentioned. Scott Ian was a huge influence on my guitar playing.
7. Don,
your uncle Terry Jacks wrote Seasons in the Sun, a song vastly different from
what OMENS delivers. How has that legacy influenced you as a musician?
Don: Terry has been an inspiration and
mentor to me in so many ways. Imagine being a kid and hearing about one of your
family members who’d written a song that was known around the world by millions
of people? It instilled in me from an early age that it’s possible to have
great success in music, and so the hunt to try to write a song that resonates
with the world began. I’m very grateful to have crossed paths with OMENS and
feel my journey has led me here for that reason.
8. Many
bands today aim for extreme heaviness but forget the hooks. You’ve said you want to balance both.
How do you strike that perfect mix?
Trev: Like the bands that influenced us,
we know the two things don’t need to be mutually exclusive. We write for
ourselves, first and foremost, and I guess we’re both always programmed to
craft a riff or a lyric that burrows its way into our brains. If you’re just
heavy for the sake of being heavy, but there’s no meat to it or it doesn’t have
you singing along or playing air guitar, what’s the point?
9. The
closing track, “Crowd Pleaser,” suggests you guys
are all about giving fans what they crave. What’s the ultimate OMENS live show experience like?
Mike: Loud. Raw. Real.
Trev: Mike made a real point of us not
overdubbing too much during the recording of the record so that we could
represent our songs live in a way that would blow people’s minds with
authenticity. What you have up there on stage is just the key elements sounding
big as god—guitar, bass, drums, voice—by guys who can lay it down individually
and who love playing together.
10. Rock
radio and MuchMusic played a huge role in your past success. How do you see the
current state of rock music, and where does OMENS fit in?
Mike: I've said this for years now:
rock and roll is no longer mainstream. It's underground. OMENS is just
flying the flag like many others. It will never die.
11. With
a full-length debut out now, what’s
next for OMENS? Any tours, videos, or special projects in the works?
Mike: We're currently writing our
next batch of songs for Album 2. I think we're going to release each song
individually this time around though. Once we've released a few, we'll
look at packaging them as an album. Videos as well. We're still
releasing videos off the first album. We also just finished recording a
batch of cover songs that will be streaming. Stay tuned.
12. For
those just discovering OMENS, what’s the one song from the album you’d recommend as the best introduction
to your sound—and why?
Mike: Divide and Conquer. It speaks for
itself.
Trev: It’s track one for a reason.
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