Oddland have gravitated towards the sound of bands like Soen and Leprous, and as a result have produced their tightest and most convincing album so far.
Oddland are a Finnish progressive metal band who were formed back in 2003. They could be accused of being a bit sluggish compared to some of their peers – it took them until 2012 to release an album, with the sophomore coming four years later. These two albums were somewhat experimental (alternative metal, you might say) and went a bit under the radar, but 2022’s Vermilion put them more in the spotlight and I sense that with this fourth album Oddland have now fully matured and honed their sound taking onboard influences from other Scandinavian compatriots. Soen, with whom they have toured, are flagged in the press release as one of those influences, but I sense others such as Leprous pushing them towards a more genuinely progressive sound.
While I think it’s fair to say Oddland have become gradually more mainstream over their four releases, you wouldn’t think so from the opener, Amokinus. It’s a brief two-minute instrumental whose first 30 seconds of percussion lull you into believing it’s one of those token preludes that seem to preface so many albums these days (even Death Metal bands have jumped on this trend!) but then in comes a big brass band theme and some funky electric guitar. It’s got a touch of Yes at their most jazz-influenced to it. A very unusual start indeed but one which succeeds in grabbing the listener’s attention.
The first regular song, Eternal Erode, is driven along by an angular mid-paced guitar riff over slightly disorientating percussion – sort of nu-metal but with progressive beats. A vocal section (with an unconvincing growling part) leads to a chorus that is both more melodic and easier to listen to as the drumming takes on a more regular pattern. The sharp shift to a brief reflective section is one of the influences of Soen perhaps, as is the short sharp guitar riff. The song feels quite substantial but finishes within four minutes, and this newfound conciseness is one of the positive changes Oddland have made this album.
The next track, Soar, takes an even more proggy path as Ojanen’s vocal melody is initially accompanied by strongly syncopated percussion. The lead guitar (also courtesy of Ojanen, I believe) grows during the song, and I love the tone of it as it meanders along in support of the vocal line. This is the sort of song that you could imagine Leprous writing. It’s a little tough to get your head around the first time but grows on repeated listening.
In general, the tracks tend to vier between the two styles mentioned above; either hard metal riffing or a more progressive style. The only exceptions are a couple of one-minute instrumental interludes, and the two-minute ballad Act Of Solace with its mournful vocals and restrained bluesy guitar work. ‘Is this the wilderness? Am I dead?’ asks Ojanen in this song; and this sort of existential pondering puts Oddland very much in the same not-very-cheerful league as Leprous or Pain Of Salvation.
At the heart of the album (literally, the middle two tracks) are the Unilluminate and Illuminate pair that give the album its title. Unilluminate has a magical sound world, mixing percussion, woodwind (I believe) and a lovely striving melody in the chorus (a little reminiscent of Evergrey), along with some excellent guitar work. It’s probably the standout track on the album. Illuminate has its moments too, mainly thanks to the unusually fast (for this band) guitar phrase which drives along the core part of this dangerously fragmented song.
Unilluminate To Illuminate is a fine example of modern progressive metal. Oddland have gravitated towards the sound of bands like Soen and Leprous, and as a result have produced their tightest and most convincing album so far. Perhaps all that’s missing is an outstanding vocalist – Ojanen is solid but not inspiring in the way that Ekelöf and Solberg are respectively for Soen and Leprous. Still, Unilluminate To Illuminate is an excellent album which will certainly appeal to fans or Scandinavian progressive metal.
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