The Odious – Vesica Piscis (Review)

The Odious are a progressive metal band from the US and this is their second album.

The Odious’ progressive metal is a mix of modern technical/progressive/death metal and progressive rock. The end result can be loosely characterised as a mix of The Faceless, Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, Sikth, Meshuggah, Ulcerate, and Devin Townsend.

It’s been seven years since the band’s debut album, and I thought we had probably heard the last of The Odious. Thankfully, I was wrong. They have now returned with 50 minutes of new material, and they don’t care who gets hurt when they play it.

The music is varied and multifaceted, taking elements of the aforementioned bands, (and many others), into its framework with ease. Involved and intricate, this is an album that does have a certain level of instant appeal, but the real pleasure of something like this comes from getting to know its twists and turns, its labyrinthine explorations of metallic expression, over time. In this way, Vesica Piscis is a rewarding and satisfying listen.

The band have had the time to refine and work on this material, and they’re clearly a skilled bunch. The songwriting may be fractured and diverse, but the band have a firm grasp on its sometimes freeform wanderings, leading to a more coherent delivery than you might imagine given its eclectic nature.

The vocals are equally as diverse as the music, coming across as a sort of Mike Patton-influenced delivery mixed in with harsher growls and shouts, the likes of which Mr. Patton rarely indulges in. There’s an Alice in Chains influence here too, in some of the clean singing. Other reference points for the vocals could be bands such as Carnival in Coal, Between the Buried and Me, Sikth, and American Headcharge, but I’m sure you get the general idea; diverse and well-performed.

It’s been worth the long wait to hear new material from this talented band. I can easily imagine Vesica Piscis gracing many year end lists in 2019. fans of challenging, involved, progressive music would be well-advised to check this out.