Odium

Reviewer: Puregrainaudio.com – Andrew King
Link:

At first glance, Odium's At The Bottom comes off like a typical metal release. It's got the dark, ominous cover art. It's got the melancholic song titles. Even when the disc goes in, the listener is greeted with a slow, sinister-sounding intro that, as a prescient metal fan would expect, explodes into a seemingly standard drum-driven opening passage. Don't get me wrong - the music is good, but in a genre that has lots of "good," it's the bands that can share bits of "excellent" that climb to the top of the heap. About 1:44 into the album opener "Oblivion's Gates," when vocalist Tom Emmans belts out a cathartic chorus of "Devolving right from the start/let go of my hand," Odium offers a glimpse of excellence.

Once the band anchors itself onto something as unique and compelling as Emmans' monstrous melodies, the listener is then able to catch the other elements that make this record quite a standout as far as melodic metal releases go. Employing snippets of metalcore (listen to the machine gun blast beats of the first track's breakdown or the intro to "It Goes Cold") and even the ambient stylings of an act like Tool (check out the last quarter of "Serenity's End" for a great example), the band is able to offer enough accessorizing to its punishing, pummeling double bass-driven melodies to build something with lasting value.

Alongside Emmans' vocal performance is some rather impressive work from behind the skins courtesy of drummer Joe Mullen. The breakdown right in the middle of "Population Zero" employs a very tasty off-time china blast that boosts what would otherwise be a standard chug-fest to something more memorable. Similarly, just when the band has used a time signature right up until its expiry date, Mullen switches up the groove to something either more chaotic, or opens up a big, airy passage over which Emmans' crooning or some compelling guitar leads are able to take centre stage. While there are a lot of guitar leads and some steady bass here worthy of a second listen, it's Mullen's percussive performance coupled with Emmans' vocals that give this record its real appeal.

Fans of Swedish metal should gravitate towards this release, as it offers the same rhythmically-sound songwriting present in more recent In Flames material, while employing bits of the aforementioned 'core or the big, bad Killswitch Engage-type brutality that seems to emerge more prominently in the second half of the album. These 10 tracks are packed with enough of just about everything that makes a metalhead's mouth water, and enough hooks to keep them around once they've taken a bite. [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Oblivion's Gates
02. Frailty
03. Serenity's End
04. Population Zero
05. At The Bottom
06. The Failure
07. It Goes Cold
08. Lifting The Veil
09. Need to Exist
10. The Abyss Stared Back

Run Time: 48:59


- Andrew King

Reviewer: MGF - Tom D'Errico
Date: April 22, 2009


Odium - At the Bottom
Year of the Sun Records (3/17/09)
Metal

Odium has taken the blueprint of melodic metal from Sweden’s In Flames
and tempered the attack with a hint of Killswitch Engage to create a
sort of Canadian leviathan. The result is At the Bottom, an album
chock-full of ambition even if the band ultimately chooses emulation
over innovation.

That’s not to say there isn’t a hell of a lot on this album to satiate
metal-heads the world over. Every song is a brutal dose of metal, filled
with melodic riffs with a little synth or keyboard popping up on the
rare occasion.

Odium is at its best when the band is just tearing through songs, like
the blistering “Population Zero” or album opener “Oblivion’s Gates”,
where each song is just turgid with meaty riffs, thunderous double-bass
and blast beats, and a nice mix of growling, demonic vocals with the
melodic, clean reprieves. (The band does a nice job with this recipe on
the slower-paced title-track, too.)

That’s pretty much the approach Odium takes with each song, sometimes
going a little heavier (“Frailty” or the nearly seven-minute “Need to
Exist”) or more melodic (“The Failure” or the syrupy album closer “The
Abyss Stared Back”). In a rare misfire, the band seems to channel
Chevelle on “Serenity’s End”, opting for almost completely clean vocals.
At least tracks like “It Goes Cold” or “Lifting the Veil” have a
built-in sense of urgency to them.

Canada is turning into a breeding ground for solid metal outfits (just
look at label mates Cradle to Grave or Misguided Aggression); If Odium
is able to break out and reach a wider audience, the band could really
make a mark on the scene and probably grow a lot, too.

Rating: 3/5
- Tom D'Errico

Reviewer: Teeth of the Divine.com - Erik Thomas

Odium
At the Bottom
(Year of the Sun Records)

Folks, THIS is how clean vocals on a metal record are done right.
Plying a familiar form of modern metal that will appeal to fans of
Killswitch Engage, All That Remains and such, Canada’s Odium add a
couple of things to spruce up their sound: some heavy handed but well
placed, dramatic orchestral synths that are in line with some of the
Lacuna Coil or some of the other Gothic metal bands (and reminded me a
little of Across the Sun’s self released effort) and the ace in the
hole, vocalist Tom Emmans.

Emmans has the requisite Phil Labonte/Howard Jones styled duality, with
a competent scream/growl, but his soulful clean croon is a simply
outstanding mix of the two but with a heavy dose of Tool’s Maynard
Keenan (especially when he enters one of his more restrained, moody
moments) thrown in.

To be honest, At The Bottom took a while to grow on me, as musically it
isn’t the most original thing in the world, and opener “Oblivion’s
Gates” and “Frailty” are pretty standard tracks beyond Emmans standout
vocals, but once the lavish synths and clean vocals broke down my hardy
death metal exterior, I found my self singing along and enjoying the
album immensely, especially to the third track, standout “Serenity’s
End”, with just a killer chorus. The rest of the tracks are no slouches
either once you warm up to them, all are crunchy, catchy, some are radio
ready and they all are glossed with Emmans silky smooth yet angst filled
croons.

Along with “Serenity’s End, “At The Bottom”, “Failure”, catchy as fuck
other standout “Lifting the Veil”, all have that all to important ‘it’
factor that makes enjoyable songs regardless of genre. With all the
quality death and black metal I have lined up for review, I find myself
coming back to At the Bottom with surprising regularity. Even clichéd closing ballad “The Abyss Stared Back” has a certain somber flare to it,
ending an album that is actually far nearer the top of the genre and not
even close to the bottom.
- Erik Thomas

Reviewer: Justin Donnelly

Odium - At the Bottom
(Kerosene Media/Year of the Sun Records)

Another of Year Of The Sun Records’ latest signings (alongside
Misguided Aggression) is fellow Ontario, Canada act Odium, who has just
released their debut full-length effort At The Bottom. Having only
formed a mere two years ago, the five piece act (comprising of vocalist
Thomas Emmans, guitarists Bo Louther and Andrew Fullerton,
bassist/backing vocalist Dale Burrows and drummer Joe Mullen) pack quite
a punch with the ten songs they offer on At The Bottom.

From the moment “Oblivion’s Gates” opens the album, it’s evident that
the band’s take on the melodic death metal sound is influenced heavily
by the current Swedish and U.S. crop of artists, with the song
reminiscent of In Flames and Soilwork, but with the brutality of
Killswitch Engage in some of the subtle metalcore influences that creep
through the band’s sound.

Although its far from original sounding, “Oblivion’s Gates” is backed by
a strong production (care of Greg Dawson), and is certainly an enjoyable
song in its own right with its mix of screamed verses, clean vocalised
choruses and the heavy riffing, all ensuring that the listener is hooked
in from the word go.

For the remaining nine tracks, Odium continue to deliver track after
track with the same winning formula that works so well for the opening
track, with barely a weak number to be heard throughout the album. But
while there can be a downfall in adopting the above mentioned method,
Odium manage to inject enough variation into the songs to separate one
from the next, with “Serenity’s End,” the percussive driven “Population
Zero,” the dramatic strings enhanced title track “At The Bottom,” “The
Failure” and the multifaceted epic “Need To Exist” the real stand out
tracks in a pack of winners.

If you’re partial to melodic death metal in the vein of Soilwork and In
Flames, but long for something less European sounding, then Odium may
just be the band you’ve been looking for, as At The Bottom is quite an
impressive debut, even if it offers nothing too ground breaking.
- Justin Donnelly

Reviewer: Way Too Loud
http://www.waytooloud.com/2009/03/31/odium-at-the-bottom/


You can really tell this bunch of American kids loves popular melodic
death metal. Whoops! I mean Canadian! Unfortunately they don’t sound
Canadian, as their interpretation of melodic death metal is very similar
to what a lot of American bands do, which is to melt their favourite
Swedish melodeath bands together, then make it heavier, and since
they’re new, a little rough around the edges. You can also tell what
Odium have their sites set on with “At the Bottom”, as every song
features a sing-along chorus, so the audience they’re shooting for would
certainly geared to those newer In Flames and Soilwork fans, especially
with the keyboards and tiny bits of techno added.

Considering I found 15 other bands related to metal also named Odium
(there’s probably a lot more called Odium that don’t play metal, and
more still that have Odium in the band name), originality certainly
isn’t the strong suit here. In all fairness though, “At the Bottom” did
surprise me and blow me away, as it’s well executed, tight, and there’s
certainly some passion running through the entire album. After a few
listens, the songs started to catch on too. I could certainly see Odium
taking this album and doing limited touring in Canada with other generic
metal and metalcore bands from big metal labels. Unfortunately the world
of American melodic death metal is already crowded, and it seems many
North American audiences are simply more interested in melodic death
metal bands from Sweden, or those bands with big single note breakdowns
that have been around for more than 5 years. “At the Bottom” is also an
album made by a Canadian band that doesn’t sound Canadian, and by this
point, if you’re a Canadian metal band, you’d better be throwing some
huge creative left turns to get anyone else to take notice. In the end
though, if you do end up getting this album there is a “wow” factor to it.
- misc.

Meet Joe. Joe is from the small farming community of Walkerton, ON and plays in a metal band called Odium. They're good. They take some driving Swedish metal influence, shake it in with some punishing breakdowns reminiscent of early Killswitch Engage material, and employ a vocalist that outputs equal parts Phil Labonte, Maynard, and Randy Blythe (with his own personal tinge that'll be used to describe others, someday). What they achieve is a collage of aggressive tendencies that has enough variety to appeal to a wide range of metal fans. The band's debut full length, At The Bottom has just dropped on Year of the Sun Records and they recently filmed their first music video with director Chad Archibald (Arise & Ruin, Farewell to Freeway). Joe and his band work hard. They've got the chops to continue creating boundary-defying heavy music and the smarts to make a real go at cracking into the scene. I, for one, am anxious to see where their music takes them. You, on the other hand, can say you first heard of them right here.

Odium is from a small town, with no major live market for at least an hour and a half in any which direction. Do you think your “rural underpinnings” hindered or benefited your music making in any way?
Joe: I don’t know – it’s hard to say. I think it offers a bit of a benefit. We don’t have a lot of distractions, but... That’s a hard one to answer. If we were to do this in Toronto... I don’t think it matters where you are – just how you do it. For me personally, though, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here. I’m happy here, and it’s where I want to be to do what I do. Nowadays, it doesn’t really matter if you’re in a small town because everybody’s connected. I mean it’s a drive to any show, but you’d be driving no matter where you were. You can’t play Toronto all the time.

A lot of people reading may not have heard your band before. Hopefully this doesn’t cheapen anything too much, but choose five words you’d use to describe your band.
Joe: Okay. Meaty [laughs], coherent... what else? Fuck. I’ve got two? Intense, melodic, and... that’s four? I want to say solid, or no bullshit. No – crushing. That’s the one.

Let’s say for the next three years, everything goes the way you’d ideally want it to for this band. Where do you see yourselves?
Joe: I hope we’d be writing a third album, nobody would be working (a second job), and we’d have a few months just to write an album, and then head out on tour. Just the constant cycle of writing an album, touring, album, touring...

You’ve done most of your recording using computer-based gear and a DAW. With these tools and technology at your disposal for dirt cheap, it seems that nearly anyone can put their music to record and...
Joe: Well, you can, but any band that’s putting out an actual album that they want sold [in the retail chains] is still going to pay for a producer and get another set of ears working on the project. I think [the computer recording equipment] has really helped us out in the pre-production stages, where we’re able to get things recorded, and then go through everything with a fine-toothed comb, weed it out, and make everything sounds good. That’s the way we do the vocals as well – just going over it over and over.

You and Tom (Emmans, vocals) are the only remaining members of the original lineup that did the Glass Barricade EP. Would you argue that Odium, at its core, is you and Tom?
Joe: No. Not anymore.

Why is that?
Joe: Now, we’ve got other members that input as much, if not more sometimes, to the band. Now, we’re a five-man team – finally. Everyone knows everyone else is going to do their best and get their work done. Dale (Burrows, bass) has really stepped up in terms of booking and keeping us organized at the whole. We’re finally where I want us to be. All these past years, I’d be going to the local music store with an ad for a bass player, and the owner said, “Does this not seem pathetic to you? You just keep losing people,” and he basically called me a tyrant. I just never wanted to settle until we had all of the horsepower we needed make this work.

One word answer without naming names, then. Is the lineup now, with the five guys you have, the best it’s ever been?
Joe: Yes.

The last few years, you’ve had the chance to play with some bands who are really at the forefront of touring Canadian metal bands – Arise and Ruin and Fuck the Facts, to name a couple. Considering some of the more experienced bands you’ve played with, how do those experiences benefit you guys in terms of what you’re bringing to the live environment? Were you able to take bits and pieces of those performances and incorporate them into what you’re doing?
Joe: Yeah, especially Arise and Ruin. They showed up, and there weren’t a lot of people at the Forum (in Hanover, ON), but by the end of their set, anyone who was there was at the front. They were really able to have a positive attitude. Some bands, when they play that venue and there aren’t a lot of people there, or even if there are a lot of people there, just don’t bring it. Those guys just laid it down, and it was awesome. As for Fuck the Facts, I don’t know what to say but “Holy fuck! That was amazing!” They’re a unique band and are doing really well, which is awesome.

Can you give a short rundown of how you first hooked up with Year of the Sun (Records) and how it came to be arranged that they’d put out your record?
Joe: Well, Dale and James (Wright, of Kerosene Media that does publicity for YOTS) had a college friendship. James ended up hearing the record, showed it to Benner (Chris Benn, YOTS President), and they picked it up right away. They said they wanted to do it, we thought about it for a week or two, and went for it. We went down to Guelph and had a chat with Benner. We were ready – we were at the point where we wanted to do this and it came at the right time.

So the music video – were you excited about that process?
Joe: I didn’t think it’d be that much work. It was a lot of work, man. We had to play the song through 20 times – and I’m actually playing. So that’s 20 times in a row, in a bush, in the middle of winter, so it was pretty grueling, but we got some good, good takes. Chad (Archibald, director) was very professional and knew exactly what he wanted to do. He was really efficient, and it’s going to look awesome.

Let’s start with the songwriting process from start to finish, using the last song you completed as an example. Can you race me through the process?
Joe: Well, Andrew (Fullerton, guitarist) had a couple of riffs that he recorded, and then I put down drums to the first half of the song. I tossed in a few Tool-ish parts and a big havy pitched screaming part at the end for Tom – Tom and Andrew, actually. Doing vocals is always an interesting process, but for this song, I don’t think we’re going to have much singing at all, but that’s not going to be a theme throughout the rest of the album. This song is just really heavy, and is more live-driven, too. Last time, all of the drums were programmed, which let us feel out our ideas and see how they’d play out, but this time we did the live drums to see how it really sounds. We’re just feeling it out more.

If you had to introduce a metal fan to your band either by giving them a copy of the record, or bringing them out to one of your shows, and that’s how they’d form an opinion of what you do, which would you choose and why?
Joe: Live. Whenever we play live, there are always people that really love it. The show we put on is really worth watching, man. It’s not better or worse than anyone else – it’s just top quality.

I’ll leave the last one open to any final words you have to say.
Joe: I don’t know, man. I’m kinda hung over... [ END ]
- Andrew King