Metalcore, Post-Hardcore band Bad Omens has finally released their much anticipated sophmore album Finding God Before God Finds Me as a follow up to their debut album Bad Omens. The band has expressed their overall thoughts on their previous record by saying, “The last record was so melancholic, sad, dark, and nihilistic at points.” which lead to lead singer Noah Sebastian saying he wanted to go into writing this one with more of an “uplifting catharsis” feeling basically meaning that it wouldn’t necessarily be just happy or sad and I feel they did a great job with executing this.

Considering the name of this album, you would automatically assume that you’re going to have some sort of cathartic experience, but there’s a fairly even balance between songs that focus more on religion and others that see a more personal side of the band. In the past, Bad Omens has often been compared to fellow Metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon as both lead singers sound eerily similar and while they don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing, it wouldn’t be considered a positive either as almost all bands would much rather have their own sound rather than being compared to someone else. On a positive note, I definitely feel they’ve managed to move away from that and form their own sound.

The first track on this album is “Kingdom of Cards” and it has almost a western feel to it as we see the first glimpse of experimentation on this album. Throughout this song we hear about the struggles of having to choose between your family and trying to make a name for yourself in the music industry. Noah Sebastian sings about how he had to leave all of his family behind in order to pursue music. He touches on the fame and legacy he gets being nice, but he’ll always have to live with the fact that he’s possibly lost all those close to him. The last half of the song features a powerful choir singing the chorus and it just makes the song that much more intense.

“Running in Circles” is the second track on this album and it for the most part explores the feeling of not being afraid to die as well as thinking we’re going to live forever. The chorus to this song is extremely catchy and is sure to get stuck in your head upon the first listen. It may not be my favorite song on this album, but it definitely manages to hold its own.

The first single that came from this album is “Careful What You Wish For” where Noah expresses the feelings he has towards all of the people he’s lost over the years. It also serves as a reminder to not hold the weight of other’s mistakes and that you just have to forgive yourself when it’s too late to forgive someone else. This song opens with a great instrumental that includes violins and leads into the hard hitting chorus. The bridge is so uplifting and we finish it off with all of the best elements of this song coming together as one.

“The Hell I Overcame” was the second single and I feel that it shares many similarities with the previous track when it comes to the overall feel of the entire song. In this song though, Noah sings about how he hopes God forgives all of the people who have doubted him in his life especially after everything he’s been through. 

Next up we have the heaviest song on this entire album, “Dethrone” and definitely one of my favorites as it just gets your adrenaline going and makes you want to find the nearest mosh pit. The lyrical content is quite interesting as I believe it’s from the point of view of a messenger from hell who would love to show up to the gates of heaven to spit in God’s face. The vocals are as aggressive as ever and I wouldn’t mind getting more songs of this nature in the future.

“Blood” is very easily my least favorite song on this album as some of the screams just feel too forced, mainly during the chorus, and sound like they don’t belong. The instrumentals have no issues at all and while the verses themselves aren’t too bad, the chorus is supposed to be where you capture your audience’s ear but this is the one song on this album that just didn’t do that for me.

We get back on the right track with “Mercy” as it is about how if God came down to Earth today and saw what we’ve made of it, there’s no way he’d take us back to heaven with him. The slow build up to the chorus in the first verse is great along with the vocals  mixed with the instrumentals are on point for this song and really gives you a reason to keep listening all the way through.

The final single released for this album “Said & Done” expresses the feeling of just not being good enough to be loved by someone no matter how much you’re willing to give that person. I would have liked a better chorus but the verses and bridge manage to make up for it in return. This song contains an amazing guitar solo during its’ bridge and that just adds on to the many little things that this song was able to do for me. I feel if it just had a better chorus that it’d be one of my if not my favorite song on the entire album.

“Burning Out” was the third single put out and I think this is probably my favorite song on the entire album. It addresses not being perfect but still being proud of who you are and also trying to find yourself head on with yet another hard hitting chorus that will surely have their fans singing at the top of their lungs at live shows. Not to mention the guitars that are played in the same melody as the vocals making everything blend perfectly.

The album closes with the track “If I’m There” which is somewhat of a love song but the band themselves also described it as, “a song of forgiveness and acceptance.” It’s very easily one of my favorites from this entire album as it has such a powerful chorus and of course the return of the choir for the final moments of this album. This is a perfect closer to a great album.

Overall, aside from a few little things, this is a major step up from Bad Omens’ previous album and you can really hear them finally coming into their own with all of the experimentation and different things they did for this album. In my honest opinion, I feel that while they’re a fairly young band, they still have plenty left to show us and very well could end up being one of the bigger names in the metal industry.

Finding God Before God Finds Me

Sumerian Records

Released: August 2, 2019

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Tracks: Burning Out, Dethrone, If I’m There, Kingdom of Cards, Running in Circles

Least Favorite Tracks: Blood

Album Tracklisting

1. Kingdom Of Cards
2. Running In Circles
3. Careful What You Wish For
4. The Hell I Overcame
5. Dethrone
6. Blood
7. Mercy
8. Said & Done
9. Burning Out
10. If I’m There