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| Oddland - 2012 - The Treachery Of Senses | | Oddland - 2012 - The Treachery Of Senses |
| Progressive metal/rock from Finland, debut full-length album released in 2012.
One thing that Finnish prog-metal band, Oddland, did not do after winning the Suomi Metal Star contest in Helsinki was plan a trip to Disneyland. Instead, they signed a deal with Century Media Records and recorded their debut album, The Treachery of Senses. So, for those of you who do not hold the oft uneducated opinions of music competitions (American Idol??) in high regard and are already writing this band off, don’t give up on Oddland just yet. They may surprise you.
The first thing I have to say is that I was not prepared for this album, at all. The Treachery of Senses is the musical equivalent of black ice. It took several days of listening before I found my footing and was able to articulate the reasons why I was so swept away. This is not a vainglorious display from a band that had to win its respect from a jury panel. In my opinion, this Finnish quartet has created a beautifully harrowing masterpiece that commands respect through masterful songwriting and superior musicianship.
The Treachery of Senses is a dynamic journey of naked emotion and doom-metal atmospherics, with many interesting diversions along the way, but the true centerpiece, the thing that draws everything else together, has to be the haunting vocals of Sakari Ojanen. When I first heard Ojanen’s voice on the opening track, "Above and Beyond”, I panicked. It was not what I expected, but by the time the chorus kicked in I had abandoned all thought of escape. Coming dangerously close to gothic melodrama on occasion, Sakari Ojanen has one of the most sophisticated and emotive voices I’ve heard in heavy music, akin to other metal crooners such as Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation), Ihsahn, Daniel de Jongh (ex-Cilice, Textures), and Paul Mozart Bjorke (Frantic Bleep). Oddland’s music does not take a back seat to Ojanen’s vocals, though. His voice is only one piece of the puzzle, and the rest of the band definitely knows how to fill in what’s left.
Oddland’s use of layering and dynamics makes the constant pummeling approach of some other metal bands seem childish and uninspired, like a bunch of primates lobbing fecal matter against a wall. Each song on The Treachery of Senses shifts and changes fluidly, providing the listener with both mellow restraint and heavy metal gloom in equal measure. Every instrument adds something significant to each track. Even the bass makes its presence known on many occasions, becoming much more than a low frequency thickening agent as is often the case in metal music. Some songs, like "In Endless Endeavour”, are stark and beautifully restrained, slowly building to a crescendo. Others, like "Flooding Light” or "Sewers”, are brooding monsters that lash out suddenly only to retreat into dark corners, coiling themselves to strike again. The choruses on songs like "Above and Beyond” and "Aisle of Array” are beacons of contrapuntal light that cut through the melancholy mist, showing you the jagged rocks ahead. There are even momentary blips of technicality, like the Frank Zappa-esque jazz flourish towards the end of "Flooding Light”, that add just the right amount of progressive experimentation to what is already an accomplished collection of music. And, at the zenith of Treachery’s power, in the fleeting minutes of "Ire”, Oddland reach a hypnotic peak of organ-like guitar drone and frantic saxophone cacophony, reminding me a little of Ihsahn’s After, only to come to an abrupt, but still climactic, end. The desire for more has been firmly established.
As long as they stay true to themselves, and the template they have created, and are allowed to evolve naturally, Oddland will be a name to watch for in the future. And until that inevitable future arrives, I will continue to immerse myself in The Treachery of Senses, treading carefully across the slippery dark beauty that it creates in my soul. I will not be caught off my guard again.
Oddland At MySpace
| | Progressive |
| | - | | 69.79 MB | -- | | 2024-11-15 | | 883 | | Seed(s): 883, Leecher(s):0 | | N/A | | 16/06/2012 06:16:24 |
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