Odium – The Sad Realm of the Stars – Review

Odium

The Sad Realm of the Stars (Nocturnal Arts)
by Paul Lee

Believe it or not, it seems like Norway still has a few talented black metal bands left in its nearly exhausted supply of grease painted freaks. If anyone can dig them up, leave it to Samoth (of Emperor) to find and sign them to his label, Nocturnal Art Productions. Just when I was starting to give up on any new bands emerging from the scene, Odium arrived in my box and I was quite taken by their Marduk-meets-Emperor blend of sheer viciousness, symphonic keyboard work, and clever chord structures.

Aside from the malevolent (yet silly) photos of band members replete with “corpse paint” and devilish eyes, Odium actually sing about such un-Satanic topics as “Palace of the Forgotten Dreams” and “Riding The Starwinds.” It would appear that these five Norwegians actually have some imagination when it comes to song subjects and lyrics (although no lyrics are included, I don’t believe Satan is mentioned once in the song titles or liner notes). No, Odium aren’t pushing the boundaries of black metal and freely admit to being influenced by “newer” bands like Mayhem and Emperor, but their music is as majestic as it is caustic, the way black metal was meant to be.

If you’re in need of a black metal fix and have all the Emperor, Marduk, and Satryricon you need, you might do well in checking out Odium. Be warned though, if you’re a newcomer to the black metal scene, you must check out the true innovators first (include Dark Throne and Carpathian Forest on your list). Though this isn’t a plug for a website, to find NAP stuff (such as Limbonic Art and Boston’s own blackmetal/industrialist, Choronzon) check out www.blackmetal.com.
(PO Box 4, 3671 Notodden Norway)