Death-Metal Band's Name Has Unfortunate Timing

Even bad publicity is supposedly good publicity, but whoever coined that phrase likely wasn't part of a death-metal band that shared its name with a coronavirus variant. Such a band formed two years ago, before COVID had overtaken the globe, and now the little-known Belgian group Omicron (which has released just one song) is finding out what it's like to see their name splashed across newspaper headlines and TV screens across the world. "We don't have any experience with this type of coverage," Ignace Casier, one of the band's guitarists, tells NPR. "We didn't even have the chance to play live yet."

The group notes on its Facebook page that it "has nothing to do with the virus," but "does make highly contageous [sic] music." Instead, the name came about because guitarist Philippe Delhaute "has an unhealthy obsession with aliens and all the interstellar obscurity that comes with it," the band tells VICE in an email statement. "He was inspired by the Dyson sphere that had been found in the Omicron Cygni constellation." Despite the unfortunate coincidence, the band has no plans to change its name, acknowledging it could help bring them exposure as they're starting out.

However, the group recognizes the "extra responsibility" that brings, noting "we are still going to tread carefully here because we do not want the world to think that we are thriving on other people's suffering." They're not the only ones who are gaining attention due to the variant: A Hong Kong-based band also named Omicron, but which broke up five years ago, is seeing renewed interest as well. "Whether for the right or wrong reasons, we've been getting clicks," frontman Li Heng Chan told Rolling Stone last month. He notes their name was similarly chosen for its cosmic theme. (More omicron variant stories.)