Omega - Shadows Of The Past

The London based NWoBHM band Omega was born out of the ashes of Apocalypse, a great band that only did a demo tape and a single (but more on that later). With Omega the lads started experimenting with a more progressive rock sound and thus Omega could be seen as one of the first progressive metal bands. I have to say though that they sounded vastly different from other early American prog metal bands like Fates Warning and Queensrÿche, as those bands were primarily influenced by Rush. Though you can definitely find some Rush influences on the record, the “Omega sound” was a lot more British. Imagine if ELP and Black Sabbath had a bastard child, and you’d have Omega.

Omega’s first and only LP, The Prophet, was released In 1985 and was as such a little late to enjoy the massive popularity the NWoBHM was enjoying a couple of years earlier. Before the LP they released a five track demo called Alpha, featuring a cover of the well known song Summertime.