lukretion Hailing from Finland, prog metallers Oddland release their third full-length album Vermilion on March 11th via UPRISING! Records. Founded in 2003 in Turku, the band has enjoyed a stable line-up over the years, comprised of singer/guitarist Sakari Ojanen, guitarist Jussi Poikonen, bass player Joni Palmorth and drummer Ville Viitanen. Mixed and mastered by Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland (Rivers of Nihil), Vermilion possesses all the slick sonic qualities of modern prog metal productions – with a big, swelling sound that plays equally on rhythmic grooves and melody, and uses dynamics to achieve powerful cathartic effects.

The PR blurb drops names like Tool, Leprous and Pain of Salvation to describe the album – and the comparisons are spot on. Oddland play a djent-infused, modern blend of progressive metal that builds on grooves, atmosphere and dynamics more than intricate playing and dazzling displays of technicality. The mood is dark, accentuated by powerful, down-tuned guitar riffs and Ojanen’s sombre and expressive vocal delivery. The juxtaposition of fat, nervous riffs and melodic lines played by the second guitar or the keyboards is very effective, achieving a good balance between muscular grooves and deft melodicism. Subtle folk influences constantly lurk in the background, adding an unusual slant to the proceedings. There are also a few daring arrangement choices – like the backward vocals on “Vermilion Pt.4: Feed the Void” or the use of the saxophone in a few passages - , showcasing a slightly more experimental side of the band that help distinguish their sound from other contemporary prog metal acts.

Most songs eschew standard predefined structures, as Oddland prefer instead to let their music ebb and flow between moments of quiet contemplation and passages that are louder and more intense. The song structures are loose, especially in the first five tracks that form a long, multi-part opus tied together by common musical and conceptual themes. The second half of the record is instead more standard, with standalone pieces that are more compact and easily accessible. The album single “Unity” is the best piece among these standalone tracks, featuring particularly strong and catchy melodies.

The album flows away pleasantly and is well produced, and Oddland clearly show strong potential. If I were to nit-pick, I’d have to point out the lack of big, attention-grabbing moments on this record. A track like “Unity” stands out here because it is one of the few that contain truly memorable melodies that remain in the listener’s brain long after the music has ended. The rest of the album is rarely so accessible and momentous, and it becomes harder to distinguish between its different tracks. This may be intentional, as the five-part, interconnected title-track suggests. However, there is an inherent risk of losing the listener’s attention here, which a few more sonic peaks could have averted.

Nevertheless, Vermilion is a good record that fans of the aforementioned bands, as well as acts like Soen and Wheel, will surely appreciate. The Finns are certainly a band to look out for. With a touch more personality and a slightly bolder and more streamlined songwriting, Oddland could aim big and carve their own special place in the busy landscape of modern progressive metal.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

UMUR "The Treachery of Senses" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish, Turku based progressive metal act Oddland. The album was released through Century Media Records in April 2012. Oddland was formed in 2003 and released three demos, which preceed "The Treachery of Senses". The band won the "Suomi Metal Star" competition in 2011, which led to the deal with Century Media Records.

Oddland is rightfully labelled progressive metal, but they aren´t your typical Dream Theater clone progressive metal act. Lead vocalist/guitarist Sakari Ojanen isn´t a high pitched vocalist, but predominantly sings in mid-range. He is quite the skilled vocalist and he has a relatively unique sounding voice. The music is pretty heavy at times and the guitar riffs and rhythms can be relatively aggressive. But ultimately it´s dynamic music, and there are as many softer and not so loud sections as there are louder heavy ones featured on the album. It´s not ultra complex progressive metal, but it´s cleverly written and quite sophisticated. It´s music which requires a few listens to sink in, but given enough spins, "The Treachery of Senses" is quite the intriguing release.

The sound production is powerful, clear, and detailed (Dan Swanö is credited for mixing the album) and the musicianship is on a high level on all posts, so all in all "The Treachery of Senses" is good quality progressive metal album with a lead vocalist providing the album with something a bit more unique than what many of their contemporaries put out. To my ears it´s not a perfect album as the band lose me a bit sometimes in the vocal melody department. It´s all nice and melodic, but it´s not always the melodies stick. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

dtguitarfan Oddland's 2012 debut, The Treachery Of Senses, is an album that took me completely by surprise. Oddland is a Finnish Progressive Metal quartet who first entered the spotlight by winning the 2011 Suomi Metal Star contest, which then earned them a deal with Century Media. One of the first things I noticed which listening to their debut is that it is difficult to compare them to other Progressive Metal groups – a reflection which may be attributable to the fact that Oddland did not originally start as a Progressive Metal band, but as a rock-oriented band with leanings toward grunge. It wasn't until vocalist/guitarist Sakari Ojanen returned to the band in 2008 after a year-long trip to Spain that the group began to travel in this direction. This album is not only an album that shows a unique style, but it is also one that starts strong and finishes strong without a single weak track – right from track one I found myself banging my head involuntarily as if a metal Pied Piper had come to visit. One of the things that I feel makes Oddland a unique and enjoyable experience is the contrast, at times, between the textures of the band's sound and the singer's voice. I might compare Sakari Ojanen's vocals to a mixture of Daniel Gildenlow of Pain of Salvation, Daniel Estrin of Voyager, and Mariusz Duda of Riverside. Sakari has a strong baritone voice which can be very soothing and smooth at times, but then at other times he shows an ability to hit hard with straining emotions and force. And, as I was saying, what really makes the music fascinating to me is how Oddland at times employs a technique of combining Sakari's soothing tones with a chaotic, crashing, dissonant texture with the guitars and drums. But they show a maturity in their songwriting in that multiple musical textures are employed, trading off between softer, more soothing tones and heavy hitting dissonances. Oddland also employs the technique of evolving musical textures, whereby they will build a texture and then add to it or change it slightly rather than merely repeat the same pattern over and over. Their textures are almost Djent-like in this way, but never quite get to the point of being so rhythmically based or crashingly dissonant as to qualify them for entry into this sub-genre. Indeed, it is their ability to contrast between mellow and aggressive, dissonant and soothing that makes this album an entertaining and interesting experience all the way through. This is one of those albums that I was not able to form or articulate an opinion on until I had given it a few listens in order to digest, and really wrap my head around the music. The masterful usage of textures caused the album to grow on me over a number of returns, and actually gave me the desire to come back to it again and again. At this point I feel it is one of the best Progressive Metal albums, and perhaps the best Progressive Metal debut, of the year 2012.

Originally written for www.seaoftranquility.org