Om (sometimes stylized as OM) is an American

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band from

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Formed as a duo in 2003 by the rhythm section of the band

Sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...

(bassist

Al Cisneros Al Cisneros (born September 23, 1973) is an American musician. He is the lead singer and bassist for stoner rock/ doom metal bands Sleep and Om. He also was a member of Shrinebuilder and Asbestosdeath (the precursor to Sleep) and has put out n ...

and drummer

Chris Hakius Chris Hakius is an American retired rock drummer best known for his work in Om and Sleep. Around 1990, Hakius was in Asbestosdeath along with Al Cisneros and Matt Pike. Asbestosdeath broke up and the three would form Sleep. Hakius was Sleep' ...

), Om is currently a trio consisting of Cisneros,

Emil Amos Holy Sons is a one-man solo band built around American songwriter and drummer Emil Amos. Amos is notable for releasing "genre-bending" albums, according to ''LA Weekly'' music reviewer Chris Martins, and for being a prolific songwriter; one accou ...

(drums), and Tyler Trotter (guitar).

History

Om's earliest works incorporate musical structures similar to

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

chant, as heard on the debut album '' Variations on a Theme''. The band's name itself derives from the Hindu concept of Om, which refers to the natural vibration of the universe. Every album from ''

Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

'' onward features

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

in the cover art. Om's first three albums feature

on vocals and bass and

on drums. On December 5, 2007, Om performed in Jerusalem. Their performance lasted for over five hours and a portion of that show was released on 12" vinyl by

Southern Lord Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include arti ...

as ''Live at Jerusalem''. The band's 2007 album ''

'' was chosen as

Mojo Magazine ''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...

's "Underground Album of the Year". In that same year, Om famously played two multiple-hour shows, with one show in Jerusalem rumored to last somewhere between four and six hours. On January 31, 2008, Chris Hakius left the band and was replaced by drummer Emil Amos of Grails. On the last tour with Hakius songs that would later become "Gebel Barkal" and "Thebes" were being performed live. On August 15, 2008, Om released a 7" 45 entitled "Gebel Barkal" for Sub Pop's Singles Club. A live vinyl-only LP, ''Conference Live'', followed in 2009 on Important Records. Om's fourth full-length studio album, '' God is Good'', was recorded by

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

and released by Drag City on September 29, 2009. The band's fifth studio album, '' Advaitic Songs'', was released by Drag City on July 24, 2012. It met with critical acclaim. In November 2013, the band played the final holiday camp edition of the world famous

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

festival in Camber Sands, England.

Members

Current

– bass, vocals *

– drums * Tyler Trotter – guitar,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, percussion

Former

– drums *

Robert Lowe Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, GCB, PC (4 December 1811 – 27 July 1892), British statesman, was a pivotal conservative spokesman who helped shape British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under William E ...

– guitars, percussion, back-up vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles and EPs

Singles and music videos

*"State of Non-Return" (2012)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Om 2003 establishments in California American doom metal musical groups Drag City (record label) artists Heavy metal musical groups from California Heavy metal duos American musical trios Musical groups established in 2003 Sub Pop artists American stoner rock musical groups Drone metal musical groups