[Music] Odin's Court - Deathanity

[Nick]

Reviewed By: Nicholas R. Andreas
Artist: Odin’s Court
Album: Deathanity
Genre: Progressive-Metal
Year of Release: 2008
On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Deathanity-Odins-Court/dp/B0018LME36/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1219019707&sr=8-1

Based over several states, the eastern US based progressive metal band Odin’s Court has recently put out their first signed release on ProgRock Records, Deathanity. The album shows some improvement, or in most cases maturity over the previous unsigned releases.

Deathanity begins with atmospheric keyboards accompanied by an intro solo that is reminiscent of David Gilmour. Immediately following that is a section that I absolutely love. Reminding me of the early years of my favorite Italian progressive act, Time Machine, from the subtle use of all the instruments, to the unfortunately lacking production of a newer band on a tight budget. As the track changes over to “Volatilestial” the first vocals kick in. Matt Brookins, the lead singer as well as one of two guitarists has an unusual voice that may be hard to digest at first. I would be the first to admit that his voice would not suite many styles of music well, however with the hauntingly dark and emotional pieces created by Odin’s Court he fits his low, drawn back voice like a glove. Near the end of the song the band manages to create a creepy atmospheric bass line to compliment beautiful soling and keyboards, and I’m once again feeling as if David Gilmour had become the lead guitarist of Time Machine. Through the next track, “Manifest Destiny”, keyboards take over as the instrument to take over the moody atmospheric duties. Creating soundscapes behind a steady backing of an array of vocals, subtly dirty guitar tones, and ever shifting drums.

The general sound of Odin’s Court continues throughout the record, often moving from the very laid back and atmospheric to straight forward progressive metal.  As one listens the high and low points of the record become very obvious. At the top you have excellent composition. A relatively new band was able to compose a fantastic concept album in which songs flow musically and lyrically, as well as stand on their own as excellent pieces of music. On the other hand the sound of the album could very well be a thorn in the bands side for a long time. The mix is good for the most part; it’s simply the quality of the sound that is lacking on almost every instrument. However as is usual, this slight lacking barely takes away from amazing music.

“Mammonific” manages to be both a dark song at times and upbeat at others, all while staring the guest vocals of Tom Englund. The guitarists show in the song that the laid back soulful soloing is not the only trick up their sleeves as they deliver an upbeat and fast tour de force on the track. The next two tracks are more of what I’d come to expect from the album; Awesome soloing, intricate instrumental work, and a complex layout. The melodies are subdued, span multiple instruments and are usually very well done. Then we come to “Crownet” featuring Tony Kakko. I love Sonata Arctica, and Tony, however I think he was poorly used in a lot of the song. His first vocals seem to come out of nowhere and seem somewhat out of place and odd. Song itself is very good; I just think there could have been better use of Kakko’s voice, although near the end of the song it gets much better than in the beginning.
Near the end of the album we are treated to a fantastic rendition of “Ode to Joy”. It’s a very well done metal cover of the song, but why in the middle of a concept album? The rest of the album is somewhat dark and gloomy, but here is this upbeat optimistic bit near the end of the album. Just struck me as odd, I’d have tacked it onto the end as a bonus track. The next to last song on the album, “Cosmosera” is a love/hate track for me simply depending at what moment of the song is on. Finally, “Vastificant” ends the album on a nice smooth instrumental departure, winding gently till the album concludes. 

Although I have several complaints, I also can’t say enough good things about this album. The composition and songwriting is top notch. The band is tight, and the playing is superb. The storyline is immense and well sown into the music. There are certain things that didn’t strike me right, but at the end of the day Deathanity is a very solid “first” effort from Odin’s Court. Biggest complaint is the production, but with a young band that’s to be expected, and I’d also hope that improves with future releases. I would highly recommend checking this album out; Odin’s Court is bound to make a run at America’s progressive metal scene, managing to stay away from the more straightforward and less progressive metal that many “prog” metal bands today love to indulge in. Odin’s Court’s music tends to be more subtle in its genius and that is something not to be overlooked.

Nick’s Rating – 8/10