MORGOTH — Odium (review)

Album · 1993 · Death Metal

5/5 · 2021-03-10
UMUR

"Odium" is the 2nd full-length studio album by German death metal act Morgoth. The album was released through Century Media Records in May 1993. It´s the successor to "Cursed" from 1991 and features the exact same lineup who recorded the debut album. Morgoth were formed in 1985 under the Exterminator monicker, but soon changed their name to Minas Morgul. In 1987 they finally changed their name to Morgoth. The band released the two EPs "Resurrection Absurd (1989)" and "The Eternal Fall (1990)", so along with "Cursed (1991)", the band already had some recording experience.

Having existed for a great deal of years at this point also meant the band began to show an interest in changing their sound and trying out new things, and especially drummer/keyboard player Rüdiger Hennecke came to the writing sessions with new influences from industrial rock and electronic music. So while the material on "Odium" is still old school death metal at its core, Morgoth have evolved quite a bit since "Cursed (1991)", and the new influences shine through a lot. "Odium" is a bleak and dark affair, which depicts a world in despair and decay. A gloomy post-apocalyptic atmosphere runs through the album, and the new influences further help enhance a feeling of impending doom. The lyrics deal with the consequences of human greed, social/politial struggles, a post-nuclear world, and other "happy" subjects.

"Odium" features a cold and clinical, yet still raw and powerful, sound production which suits the bleakness of the material perfectly. This is an album featuring a perfect balance in that department. The musicianship is also a great asset on the album. Morgoth are a tight playing unit delivering sharp heavy riffs, atmosphere enhancing lead work, and creative drumming. Lead vocalist Marc Grewe spices up his intelligible growling vocals with some semi-clean raw vocals, which provide the vocal part of the album with some variation and a slight touch of the melodic.

"Odium" is a fairly varied release, and the 8 track, 42:22 minutes long album features both faster-paced death metal parts, crushingly heavy mid-paced brutal grooves, and atmospheric parts. The album opens with "Resistance", which is probably the fastest and most death metal oriented track on the album, but the pace is lowered considerably to a heavy mid-paced groove on "The Art of Sinking". "Submission" is an almost progressive structured track, which spends several minutes building up atmosphere and intensity (the use of keyboards is quite effectful), before changing into a faster death metal song. "Under the Surface" (which the band released an official video for) is a predominantly mid-paced industrial tinged death metal track, featuring a pretty original sounding riffing style. "Drowning Sun" continues the more experimental song structure approach of "Submission", and proves to be one of the heaviest and most bleak tracks on the album. "War Inside" is the least spectacular track on the album, but still a great heavy death metal track. "Odium" closes with the duo of the 7:13 minutes long "Golden Age" and the 6:16 minutes long instrumental title track. The former is both the longest and the most adventurous track of the album, featuring a longer melancholic atmospheric section in the middle part of the song, while the latter would probably have been labelled post-metal had it been released today. It´s a heavy, melancholic, and atmospheric instrumental, which closes the album in great style.

"Odium" received a mixed response upon release. Some felt Morgoth had moved too far away from their original death metal sound, and didn´t appreciate the new industrial influences, while others praised the band´s creative spirit and unconventional take on death metal. Personally I belong in the latter camp, and I consider "Odium" one of the most original sounding death metal releases of the era. The boldness and audacity to release something like this as your sophomore studio album, when the band had enjoyed success and predominantly positive reviews of "Cursed (1991)", is worth all the praise in the world. They must have been tempted to write a "Cursed (1991)" number two, but obviously chose to follow their desire to progress and to challenge themselves and their fans. A 5 star (100%) rating is deserved.