Oddland: Origin

You have to love when you are completely blown away by a band you've never heard before, and that was indeed the case here with the sophomore release from Finnish metal act Oddland, titled Origin. Our friends over at Sensory Records have always been a good judge of talent, and they've signed up a real winner here with this four piece.

As I mentioned, Origin is the bands second album, their first, The Treachery of Senses, came out on Century Media a few years ago, but didn't quite make the waves they had intended it to despite plenty of critical acclaim. That should change with this latest platter of progressive metal mayhem, which was partly recorded & produced by the band, then mixed and mastered by none other than Daniel Bergstrand, who has worked with heavy hitters that include Meshuggah, Dimmu Borgir, In Flames, and many others. Musically, this is dark, atmospheric, and complex progressive metal, with instant comparisons to Opeth and Meshuggah coming to mind. The two -pronged guitar attack whips up plenty of deep, booming, and twisting riffs, plus a wide assortment of twin guitar harmonies and solos, while the intricate polyrhythms keeps the arrangements undulating and always intriguing. "Skylines" is a perfect example of how to mix djent styled rhythms and riffs with atmospheric prog rock, the bubbling keys floating over crushing arrangements and a blend of soaring clean vocals and angry growls. The vocals overall are expertly done, as Sakari Ojanen's melodic style sounding not far removed from Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt, and the occasional growl adds the right amount of aggression. Sweeping, complex prog metal tracks such as "Faraway", "Esotericism", and "Thanatos" contain some jaw-dropping musicianship, as well as monstrous grooves, while "Will" is just so damn addicting, with catchy vocal passages and massive riffing, that it's impossible to ignore.

It won't be hard to proclaim that Origin is one of the most impressive progressive metal albums released here in 2016, as well as one of the best ever to come out of Finland, a country rich in recent musical treasures. Oddland are a band you are going to be hearing a lot about folks, trust me on that, so make sure you don't miss out on this gem!

See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!

Track Listing
1) Esotericism
2) Thanatos
3) Penumbra
4) Untrue
5) Hidden
6) Skylines
7) Unknown
8) Faraway
9) Will

Added: September 8th 2016
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 2882
Language: english

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