Favourite of the month #79

Because of my love for music, I want to share my favourites. So, the way this works: I’ll share 5 songs I like from this artist/band. And I give a small background story of the artist/band!

This month: Bad Omens

Bad Omens is an American metalcore band from Richmond, Virginia formed in 2015 by vocalist, frontman, and producer Noah Sebastian, guitarist Nicholas Ruffilo, and bassist Vincent Riquier. The band was later joined by guitarist Joakim “Jolly” Karlsson and drummer Nick Folio, releasing their critically acclaimed debut self-titled album in 2016 under Sumerian Records. Their second full-length album, Finding God Before God Finds Me, was released in 2019. A deluxe edition was released in 2020, spawning singles “Limits” and “Never Know”, which both charted on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

The idea to form Bad Omens came in 2013 when Noah Sebastian began secretly making lyrics while also performing guitar duties for a Washington, D.C.-based act named Immoralist. In 2014, Noah Sebastian departed from his former band, with Bad Omens in sight. The following year in 2015, he contacted an old friend, Nicholas Ruffilo, to start the band. He then added another mate, Vincent Riquier, who introduced him to a friend from Sweden, Jolly Karlsson. Karlsson had known Riquier through being touring mates from an old project from Riquier. With those four members, the group moved out of their homes in Sweden and Richmond. Karlsson had the idea to make the move when a friend of his began a small record label that was initially producing the band’s songs. Nick Folio joined after submitting an online cover of a demo the band put out while seeking a drummer. Thus became Bad Omens. The band’s name, “Bad Omens”, was originally supposed to be the title of one of their early songs, which ended up becoming known as “Glass Houses”. The band put out an untitled demo EP containing rough versions of their debut album tracks, which caught the eye of Sumerian Records. The EP was good enough for Sumerian to recommend taking most of the tracks and putting them on a full-length.

The lyrical content of the band’s debut revolves mostly around despair, mental health struggles, and addiction. The band has stated numerous times that they have been compared to the early 2010s metalcore style of Bring Me the Horizon. This is due to Noah Sebastian’s scratchy, mid-to-high pitch screaming style which bears resemblance to Bring Me the Horizon frontman Oliver Sykes’ voice on their 2013 Sempiternal release. Sebastian also explained that while he may have been influenced by the band, the intent was to sound unique.

This is my top 5 of their songs!

1. Just Pretend

2. The Worst In Me

3. The Grey

4. The Death Of Piece Of Mind

5. Like A Villain

What’s your opinion about them?

Love, Skye Lewis ❤

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