For this homework assignment, I would like to explore one of my favorite artists—the band Bad Omes, specifically their album, «The Death of Peace of Mind.»
Bad Omens is an American band that started as a typical metalcore collective but has transformed into one of the most discussed acts on the modern scene by 2026. Their sound organically weaves together the heaviness of metal, catchy pop melodies, and dark industrial textures.
The idea to form a band first came to soloist Noah Sebastian back in 2013 while he was playing in another Washington group concurrently.In 2014, he left the old project, and a year later, he and his friend Nicholas Ruffillo founded Bad Omens. The other members soon joined them.The band recorded a demo album with rough versions of future songs, which attracted the attention of Sumerian Records.
The company evaluated the material and suggested including most of the tracks directly in the debut album.
The debut self-titled album, «Bad Omens,» released in 2016, was warmly received by genre fans and solidified the group’s status as promising newcomers. However, it did not bring the collective mass popularity. Nevertheless, the band was often perceived as imitators of Bring Me The Horizon, noting the strong resemblance of their sound to the British group’s early works. At that time, this comparison was quite justified—to me, Bad Omens' early sound strongly resembled BMTH’s work as well. The band was still searching for its own voice.
The group itself responded to such comparisons with restraint, calling them «complimentary, yet simultaneously disappointing.» Sebastian admitted that Bring Me The Horizon undoubtedly influenced him, but stressed that their goal was always to sound like themselves rather than to copy anyone.
Everything changed in 2022 with the release of the single «Just Pretend.» The track began going viral on TikTok, garnered hundreds of millions of streams, and brought in a new audience for the group—including myself.
The Death of Peace of Mind — the second studio album, released on February 4, 2022. The LP features 12 tracks, including the hits «Just Pretend, ” „Artificial Suicide, ” „The Death of Peace of Mind, ” and „What It Cost.“ The album charted on Billboard, and the single „Just Pretend“ accumulated over 200 million streams on Spotify.
The album The Death of Peace of Mind is a conceptual narrative about an individual grappling with anxiety and depression in the contemporary world. This is where the title, «The Death of Peace of Mind, ” originates.
For me, «The Death of Peace of Mind» is an album that shattered my perception of what «heavy» music can be. It is simultaneously dark and beautiful, aggressive and tender. It is this duality that drew me in—and even captivated my attention—to this band, and specifically to «The Death of Peace of Mind.» This album belongs to that rare category of records that deeply resonate with the soul; every track is a favorite, and not one song you want to skip.
As the group’s lead singer notes, their lyrics often revolve around toxic relationships, mental health issues, addiction, and internal pain. However, this is presented not through aggression, as is common in classic metal, but through the aesthetics of beauty and melancholy.
My absolute favorite track on the album is «bad decisions.» I think it best explains why this project is so captivating.
«bad decisions» (the band intentionally writes it in lowercase) is one of the album’s most mellow and subdued tracks. Unlike the anticipated heaviness, this track deliberately lacks aggressive guitars or powerful drums. It is an intimate, almost ballad-like story built around a minimalist electronic beat and deep vocals. The band strips away extraneous layers of arrangement, leaving the listener alone with the lyrics and the atmosphere. For me, «bad decisions» is simultaneously simple and profound—melancholic and incredibly stylish.
This track proves that Bad Omens does not need a heavy layering of sound effects to maintain attention. They masterfully control the mood through silence, space, and intimate delivery.
Bad Omens is more than just a band that gained popularity through TikTok. It is an example of how contemporary music operates in reality: without rigid genre boundaries, where metal can coexist with pop aesthetics, and industrial can coexist with R&B. It is within this duality—this balance between opposites—that something truly new is born.
