ONI Release ‘Loathing Light’
Progressive rock and metalcore converge in Loathing Light, the new album from ONI. The project is the brainchild of Jake Oni, the Canadian singer/songwriter. Taking the name of the traditional demon of Japanese folklore, ONI debuted in 2014. Since then, ONI has released the well-regarded album Ironshore (Metal Blade Records), and the EP Alone (Black Light Media), whose title track single garnered 1.3M spins on Spotify alone. Promoting those releases, ONI has toured with acts such as Gojira, Children of Bodom, and Rob Zombie. Loathing Light is the first studio album from ONI in seven years.
Discussing the writing of the album, Jake Oni said, “The songs are very much written from the first person, with a lot of ‘I’ and ‘me’ in the lyrics as opposed to ‘us’ or ‘you.’ The music encompasses many different vibes, both light, and dark. I really challenged myself to address difficult things I’ve gone through over the years.”
Loathing Light is released by Ironshore Records. Accompanying the album is a music video for the song, “Against My Sins.” Prior to the video’s debut, ONI released a series of singles. In addition to the tracks “The Lie,” “Heart to Stone,” and “Secrets,” ONI has released a couple of singles featuring notable guest musicians. These singles include “War Ender” featuring NYC trap metal band City Morgue and “Secrets” which boasts contributions by Iggy Pop and Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe.
Jake Oni has long seen the value in collaborating with talented artists to further his musical vision. Describing ONI as “the band I never got to see,” Jake Oni recruited top-tier musicians noted for their technical skills. This led to ONI receiving comparisons to Meshuggah, Between The Buried And Me, and Protest The Hero.
ONI has benefited from the close partnerships Jake Oni has formed with producer Josh Wilbur (Megadeth, Avenged Sevenfold, Gojira) and Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton. In fact, Jake Oni was the executive producer on Morton’s debut solo album, Anesthetic which featured the hit single “Cross Off” co-written by Morton, Oni, Wilber, and the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park.
Loathing Light features 10 passionate songs that range from life-affirming anthems to dark, personal confessions of doubt and guilt. The range of emotions presented in the album creates a thrilling listening experience.
“Music is such a gift,” said Oni. “If you can make music, and people respond to it? I've learned not to take that for granted. Count your blessings because the opportunity to make music is such a great one. We should always be grateful. Because it's the coolest job anyone could do.”
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