OMEN
TEETH OF THE HYDRA

Omen from Los Angeles, formed in 1983 should be considered as founders of Us epic heavy metal together with Warlord, Manilla Road, (early) Manowar, Savatage, Virgin Steele and Armored Saint, choosing to worship the genre in its purest and truest tradition, detatching from US thrash/speed metal that was the “king” of that decade. Their 80’s albums, debut “Battle Cry” and following “Warning of Danger” became, rightly, HM classics. “Teeth of the Hydra”, a compilation album originally released in 1989 by Metal Blade, featuring 11 highlights drawn from the four albums and one Ep released during Omen's five-year tenure with the Us label, is such an ideal career wrap-up for anyone looking to sample the band's wares. All the Omen's classics are here, and even if some tracks follow the thrash-way ("Termination", "The Curse"), it's the old-school heavy metal of standouts like "Teeth of the Hydra," "Bounty Hunter," the very Iron Maiden-like "Die by the Blade" (exposing the band's New Wave of British Heavy Metal influences), “Dragon’s Breath,” “Teeth of the Hydra”, “Battle Cry”  that find Omen in their true element, an exciting epic heavy metal sound embellished by the unique and rough voice of J.D. Kimball (passed away in 2003). Not to surprise so to find just 1 track from "Escape to Nowhere" ("Thorn in Your Flesh" - 1988) featuring future Annihilator singer Coburn Pharr, who replaced original vocalist on the band's final Metal Blade album.