Christhunt Productions, 2005
Genre: Black Metal
1. Einklang
2. ...wilde Kraft entfesselt
3. Aus hassgeschwellter Brust
4. Der Worte Gewalt
5. Die Rast unter der Eiche
6. Flammendes Schwert
7. Un frei zu sein Pt. II
8. Gabe der Vollkommenheit
9. Ausklang (Das Siegeslied)
It seems like Odal has quite a discography already, but "...wilde Kraft" is only their second full-length. Odal's material has been on a fairly steady rise as far as I'm concerned and this absolutely blows the debut out of the water.
It seems writing and arranging on all those other EP's and Splits has truly paid off because it has given rise to an excellent Black Metal album in the guise of "...wilde Kraft". There isn't a single bad song here and all the riffing follows a primary path of triumphant riffing. It has that ever present style, but for some reason I want to say it reminds me a bit of what you would think Moonblood would do next. On that note, it's probably more similar to Nachtfalke then, only far more Black Metal. Which is probably why I really love this album. The album is split by "Die Rast undter der Eiche" which is a nice acoustic interlude and reminded me of Dissection, more because Dissection did that on their early albums, not because it sounded similar. The songwriting changes up a bit with "Un frei zu sein Pt. II", which sounds quite different from the rest of the album. It's much darker and stands out amidst the other songs because of it. It's also strange in the sense that it claims to be a "Part 2", but there is no "Part 1" in the rest of Odal's entire discography. Maybe Taaken is still sorting it out...
In any event, the prior Odal releases have all culminated into this excellent album. So, if you're a fan of those triumphant German riffs then this Odal album gives them to you in one solid album. If you're looking for a place to start delving into Odal, then this is the album to check out at the very least. It's absolutely wonderful music. The tough part is going to be building the band from here... this will be a tough album to follow.
Heidens Hart, 2004
Genre: Black Metal
Branstock:
1. Donars Zorn
2. Folgend den Spuren
Cultus:
3. Tragwldia
Odal:
4. Des Wodans Zorn
Deathgate Arkanum:
5. Jenseits der Tore
Side Branstock: ...probably never, didn't like this...
Side Cultus: ...coming eventually...
Side Deathgate Arkanum: ...coming eventually...
Side Odal:
I've never heard of any of the other projects on this split and Odal was the only reason I picked this up. Branstock seems to be some crappy Nationalist stuff that usually sounds bad. Some of the other projects seem okay, but nothing really stands out and Odal stands as the best project on this split in my opinion. This material is pressed on 10" vinyl and limited to 500 copies.
The Odal material is pretty good. Taaken has more guitar layering happening and there are sections with a sort of chanted vocal part that works very well within his music. The interesting part is it looks like the liner notes say the song is from 2002. If that's the case I'm surprised it was never released, because it's a pretty good song.
In the end this split is probably worth skipping. One good song from Odal is not worth the shipping of an entire 10" vinyl as far as I'm concerned, especially overseas.
Christhunt Productions, 2004
Genre: Black Metal
Odal:
1. ...und auf Erden tobt die Schlacht...
Surturs Lohe:
2. Enter the Fields of Clear Blue Sky
Side Surturs Lohe: ...coming eventually...
Side Odal:
Odal have been delving into the split release track and for their second split they team up with another great German band Surturs Lohe. This is pressed on 7" vinyl and limited to 500 hand-numbered copies, of which I own #97.
The Odal contribution to this split is nothing new for that project. If you've been following Odal thus far you sort of know what to expect from their traditional form of German Black Metal. This isn't far enough removed from the prior split and the new song can easily fit within the framework of the last EP. Taaken is definitely on a strong writing stint and I've enjoyed nearly everything he's done on the past few releases.
Christhunt Productions, 2003
Genre: Black Metal
1. Einst verehrt von allen
2. Thüringland in eisiger Kälte
3. ...durchwandernd die Heimat
4. Germansk
Taaken seems to be constantly writing new material and they refuse to wait and release it in with a full-length, so with the success of "Sturmes Brut" Odal have hooked up with legendary German label Christhunt Productions to release their new EP. I believe this was first released as a split with Raven's Empire on 12" vinyl. However, these separate CD versions were also released in the same year and on here we get all three new songs and a re-recording of the demo song "Germansk" as a bonus.
The EP opens with "Einst verehrt von allen" and what an awesome song. It immediately hooked me in with some really killer riffing. This holds up quite well throughout the song and it's one of the most ear catching Odal songs written so far. "Thüringland in eisiger Kälte" is quite different and it's not nearly as exciting sounding, but it is very melancholic. The third new song brings us back closer to the first song with it's overall catchiness. I really like this form of Taaken's writing and it seems quite a step forward from the earlier material. This EP does a decent job of wanting me to hear more in this style and I definitely look forward to what Odal will produce in the future, because they keep getting progressively better with each new release.
Darkland Records, 2002
Genre: Black Metal
1. Einklang
2. Traum von Finsternis
3. War
4. A New Beginning
5. Shadows of Doom
6. Sturmes Brut
7. Ausklang
After two EP's and a demo Odal finally hit us with their debut full-length "Sturmes Brut". Now there are multiple editions of this release and the first and second pressings had no bass guitar on them, you don't get much more tried and true Black Metal than that! However, in 2009 Taaken returned to this release and had Naudhiz step in and record bass lines onto the original recordings. I happened to be late to discovering Odal and I have the 2009 edition, with bass.
Odal's songwriting has changed fairly dramatically from the demo and the first two EP's. Don't worry, those elements are still ever present in their music, but they've definitely varied up their riffing a little bit more. A new drummer has joined the project and I think that has opened up things for a more varied writing approach. With the addition of Grroll behind the kit it's allowed Taaken to write more complex material and really vary up the feel of his songs. Musically this is right in line with where German Black Metal influenced by the likes of Moonblood, Darkthrone, or Arckanum would wind up progressing into it. "Sturmes Brut" is just an amalgamation of classic sounding Black Metal and it maintains that raw recording feel.
So, if you like that harsh and cold feel of Black Metal then this debut from Odal is everything you've wanted out of an early 2000's release. The songs are well written and enjoyable even if the riffing is nothing new for us veterans of the scene. The cold atmosphere is enough to keep me listening. And while I may not pull this album out on the regular, I'll enjoy it when I realize I haven't listened to this in a very long time.
Sombre Records, 2002
Genre: Black Metal
1. Warriors of the Night
2. Fimbul Winter
Right after their "Germansk" demo Odal immediately turned to making 7" releases. Unfortunately, I missed out on getting an original press of the "Traitor" 7", so we're skipping right to the "Fimbul Winter" release. Maybe I'll fill in the release gap some other day. "Fimbul Winter" was released by the legendary Sombre Records and its listed as being to limited to 350 copies, but there is no numbering on the release.
"Fimbul Winter" continues with where "Traitor" left off. They had already lengthening their songs on the "Traitor" EP and that continues here with "Fimbul Winter", which is a massive improvement over the "Germansk" demo. Hearing the material in a more well mixed environment is far more enjoyable as well. The material is still recorded in that mostly raw Black Metal fashion, but it's not too different from the early German and Norwegian recording quality of the early 90's. The riffing is fairly similar to a blend of that late 90's German style and early 90's Scandinavian feel. Some may find the riffing overly redundant to these time frames and since Odal is using a traditional recording style, this is really bringing nothing new to the table. However, with the extended song length Odal manages to have a more expansive feel than their demo, which is really what these riffs needed.
If you're a fan of that traditional German Black Metal style then Odal is a band worth checking out for sure. I really like their overall sound and, even though this nothing new, I definitely enjoyed listening to these two songs. It will be nice when this band is ready to put out a full-length.
Self-Released, 2000
Genre: Black Metal
1. Intro
2. Das Ende
3. Musik der Schlacht
4. Germansk
5. Transilvanian Hunger (Darkthrone cover)
6. Outro
Odal hail out of German and they play a blend of that Pagan/Black Metal style. Where it feels like they recast some of the old Folk styles with distortion and tremolo picking. "Germansk" is a short fifteen minute demo with three original songs and one cover. Basically, the gold standard format for a Black Metal demo. The tape comes as a xeroxed cover with just a dubbed cassette, there is no hand-numbering.
The original songs are short and sweet and clock in under three minutes each. They definitely could have doubled the length of these songs for a more droning atmospheric feel, but all the songs meander around a couple riff ideas, which is why the band probably kept the material so short. The material is ultra simple and lands somewhere in the realms of Darkthrone meets Arckanum to some degree. The drumming is ultra simple and there isn't even much in the way of blasting through these riffs, rather keeping a simple rock beat, which gives everything a bit of a different feel from the norm. The most blast beats certainly show up with their cover of "Transilvanian Hunger", which is also the longest song on this demo, strangely enough. Either way they did a pretty good job on this, regardless of how poorly recorded it may be.
Odal sounds like a band that I could get into from this original demo. Their original riffs are pretty good and as they grow as a band I could definitely see them putting out some much stronger material. As usual with demo's, I usually recommend people skip out on them unless they're really interested in where a band came from. "Germansk" isn't exactly going to be tearing up the demo scene, but it's a good first effort and I'll be interested to hear where they land in a studio setting.
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