Review by Denis on April 9, 2003.

Nicodemus is the creation of American composer Christopher Morris and saw its origin back in 1998. "The Supernatural Omnibus" is the second release from this band but the first one that came out in 2000 titled "Tales of the Lovelorn & Necromantic" was more a solo project since Christopher did it all by himself. Recruiting some musicians for concerts and recording, Nicodemus became a three-piece set with Christopher on vocals, bass and keyboards; Mathew McGee on guitars; the drums and percussions handled by Andrew Green. The line-up was completed in 2001 by Tamar Yvonne on vocals.

"The Supernatural Omnibus" delivers through its ten compositions some kind of spooky and symphonic doom gothic vibe. The music structure is pretty intricate and follows quite a progressive path. Sound pretty esoteric doesn't it? To make things even more mystical and mysterious, the vocals of Christopher are the black type but used in the spoken form as a narrator for these somber and poetic vampiric stories. The clean version of his voice plus the backing and sometimes lead vocals of Tamar Yvonne sound contrastingly clear and shed a haunting feel to the already haunted melodies. The keyboard driven soundscapes give the opus a sense of grandiose by being often used in the symphonic mode with frequent piano parts.

Here are some "low light" pleasures to be on the look out for: 'Afterglow' for its heavier prog sound; the calm piano and clean vocals of 'Harlot'; the middle instrumental section consists of 'Of Pride and Necessity' and 'The Lazarus Syndrome'; the Genesis sounding 'Within the Glow of Embers'; the elegant darkness of 'Deepening'; the epic 'Shards of a Bitter Night Wept' or perhaps the simply gorgeous ballad closing the album 'Benedetto Sia'.

Bottom Line: The beautiful cover art work will attract you in a world where the shadows live.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Originality: 7.5
Atmosphere: 7.5
Production: 7
Overall: 7.5

Rating: 7.5 out of 10