{"id":267848,"date":"2025-10-01T00:42:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T00:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/267848\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T00:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T00:42:10","slug":"insomniac-om-moksha-ritam-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/267848\/","title":{"rendered":"Insomniac – Om Moksha Ritam Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The terms \u201cpsychedelic\u201d and \u201cpost-metal\u201d are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution\u2014not because those genres lack excellent music, but because they\u2019re so often associated with overlong, unfocused songs. For every Cult of Luna<\/strong><\/a> or Oranssi Pazuzu<\/strong><\/a>, there are fifty bands peddling overlong, riffless dirges that mistake \u201catmosphere\u201d for actual songwriting. Atlanta supergroup Insomniac<\/strong> has arrived with their debut record Om Moksha Ritam, with the ominous self-designation of \u201cpost-doom.\u201d The title, loosely translated from Sanskrit as \u201cLiberation through merging with the Universal Rhythm,\u201d foregrounds its ambitions as a concept album designed to \u201cguide listeners through an aural and spiritual journey across multiple extreme environments.\u201d Have Insomniac<\/strong> crafted a narrative listening experience that successfully conveys its metaphysical aspirations? Or is their debut the \u201cpost-doom\u201d equivalent of a bad trip?<\/p>\n

On Om Moksha Ritam, Insomniac<\/strong> manages to craft a sound that is immediately recognizable yet distinctly their own. They merge the progressive psychedelia of Elder<\/strong><\/a> with the layered, textural approach of REZN<\/strong><\/a>, all filtered through the Southern-gothic tinge of fellow Georgians Baroness<\/strong><\/a>. The result is a body of songs that draw equally from the contemplative exploration of \u201970s prog, Americana-dipped blues rock, and the anthemic heft of post-metal\u2019s sludgier, power-chord-driven moments. What makes this combination work is not just the intuitive chemistry of the instrumentalists, but the commanding presence of vocalist Van Bassman. Each track is surprisingly vocal-driven, and Bassman conjures a sound somewhere between a bluesier Dax Riggs and a John Baizley who\u2019s actually capable of singing. His baritone sits front and center for much of Om Moksha Ritam, often accompanied by vocal layers and effects, creating a kaleidoscopic swirl that amplifies the ebb and flow of the music as it moves between peaks and valleys.<\/p>\n

Om Moksha Ritam by INSOMNIAC<\/a><\/p>\n

It helps that Om Moksha Ritam\u2019s tracklist is dynamic and well-paced, with each of its 7 songs offering subtle differentiation on Insomniac<\/strong>\u2019s core formula. Much of this can be attributed to the interplay between guitarists Alex Avedissian and Mike Morris, whose willingness to balance acoustic and effects-laden electric timbres gives the record a versatile and interesting palette. The guitars ferry the songs between quiet reflection and crushing grandeur. Whether it\u2019s weaving intricate folky arpeggios together with tripped-out leads (\u201cDesert\u201d), harmonizing across doomy atmospheres (\u201cMountain\u201d) or using post-rock tremolos to punctuate a well-earned climax (\u201cMeditation), the guitar work on Om Moksha Ritam is consistently engaging and varied. Of course, this would be for naught without a strong rhythm section, but Insomniac<\/strong> has that as well. Drummer Amos Rifkin brings a loose, delicate touch to softer tracks like \u201cSea\u201d and \u201cForest,\u201d but escalates with thunderous weight when the music demands greater intensity. Meanwhile, bassist Juan Garcia provides a warm, full-bodied tone that both supports and embellishes the melodic core, keeping the songs anchored amid the dense layering of guitars and vocals, which is important on a track like the expansive and sprawling \u201cSnow and Ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Only a few minor inconsistencies keep Om Moksha Ritam from reaching the apex of Insomniac<\/strong>\u2019s sound. The B-side leans away from emphatic \u201cHell yes\u201d moments in favor of slower, navel-gazing jams. These tracks reward repeat listens but aren\u2019t as immediately gripping. Closer \u201cAwakening\u201d falls just shy of the monumental highs of the opening salvo, with a climactic chorus that doesn\u2019t land as powerfully as it could. For the most part, the record sounds fantastic and balances its many intricate layers, though there are moments (the refrains of \u201cMountain\u201d and \u201cSea\u201d) where Bassman\u2019s voice overpowers the rest of the band in a psychedelic spiral. These issues don\u2019t detract too heavily from the record\u2019s overall impact, but they are worth noting.<\/p>\n

Om Moksha Ritam takes you on a hallucinogenic trek across the desert, riffs shimmering like heat mirages, the atmosphere thick enough to choke a camel. Insomniac<\/strong> has delivered an album that takes listeners on a true musical journey, drenched in smoke-filled vibes, yet immediately rewarding. Their unique, psychedelic strain of \u201cpost-doom\u201d metal blends familiar elements from beloved bands into something greater than the sum of its parts. If Insomniac<\/strong> invite me on another spiritual vision quest through the wastelands of sound, I\u2019ll happily lace up my sandals, pack my water skin, and follow them straight into the void.<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> 3.5\/5.0
DR:<\/strong> 7 | Format Reviewed:<\/strong> PCM
Label:<\/strong> Blues Funeral Recording<\/a>
Websites:<\/strong> insomniacvibes.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/insomniacatl<\/a>
Releases Worldwide:<\/strong> September 1st, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The terms \u201cpsychedelic\u201d and \u201cpost-metal\u201d are usually enough for me to approach any new release with caution\u2014not because…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":267849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1444,63696,139534,139535,139536,139537,139538,66954,71075,171,139539,975,139540,139541,139542,125817,87811,139543,36497,2290,11853,139544,125820,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-267848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-1444","9":"tag-3-5","10":"tag-ameircan-metal","11":"tag-baroness","12":"tag-blues-funeral-recording","13":"tag-blues-rock","14":"tag-cult-of-luna","15":"tag-doom-metal","16":"tag-elder","17":"tag-entertainment","18":"tag-insomniac","19":"tag-music","20":"tag-om-moksha-ritam","21":"tag-oranssi-pazuzu","22":"tag-post-rock","23":"tag-post-metal","24":"tag-progressive-metal","25":"tag-psychedelic-metal","26":"tag-psychedelic-rock","27":"tag-review","28":"tag-reviews","29":"tag-rezn","30":"tag-sep25","31":"tag-united-states","32":"tag-unitedstates","33":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115296138263743506","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}