The Finns Oddland release their fourth album, “Unilluminate to Illuminate”. Their sound is built on progressive metal and djent: the baritone voice of Sakari Ojanen and the hard rock melodies meet complex rhythms, riffs with eight-string guitars and the constant presence of the saxophone.
Country: Finland
Genre: Progressive Metal / Djent
For fans of: VOLA, Pain of Salvation, Soen, Votum
What stands out
Guitarist Jussi Poikonen uses the saxophone not only for solos, but also as part of the riffs and melodies. On “Eternal Erode”, Ojanen’s clean choruses and the saxophone motif stand opposite the eight-string guitars and the rarer growls. The band keeps familiar verse-chorus structures, but fills them with organic passages and sudden breaks.
“Unilluminate” is one of the most complete tracks on the record. A synth motif passes into the saxophone in the chorus, while “Red Canvas” pushes the vocals into a more demanding range. On “Waterdrops”, the polyrhythm and the saxophone work better than anywhere else and the band sounds truly tight.
The production
The main weakness lies in the mix. The riffs often sound alike, which makes the record uniform, while the snare sounds overly loud. The synthetic strings don’t stand out easily, the saxophone is not always integrated naturally and the vocal duet on “Illuminate” has some flat moments.
Oddland have interesting ideas, especially when they combine many different lines, but the production doesn’t always let them be heard clearly. “Unilluminate to Illuminate” needs work to reach where its compositions point. “Unilluminate” and “Waterdrops” stand out.
