Terraform

There are an awful lot of bands called Odium on the Metal Archives, so congratulations if you were searching for this one (the Canadian melodeath one) rather than another. It’s indicative of a lack of imagination to call your band Odium really, since it’s just “hate” in Latin, and seeing as this group have only been around for 10 years or so, they certainly aren’t the first to use the moniker. In any case, choice of name is not the only thing that prevents Terraform truly finding its way to the right ears.
 
This sort of metal has been done and redone over Odium’s lifespan, starting out as a basic metalcore hybrid in which the metal part was made up more of melodic death metal (North American garden variety) than either pure death metal or classic heavy metal. The evidence of melodic death is still writ large on the swooping leads and some of the melodies, though the modernity of the production and generally flatter, sometimes percussive sound owes its influence to “modern metal” tendencies, in which sub-genres swirl together in an ever-deepening cauldron of unfussiness. To listen to a song like ‘Delusion’, one would think that the five-piece had expended a lot of energy absorbing the different disciplines of the heavier stuff, dropping in a calm introduction, a metalcore breakdown, death metal riffing, and a soaring chorus with both clean and harsh vocals, all before heading off on a fairly shreddy lead that betokens as much power and thrash metal as any of the previously mentioned genres. That the bridge crusades forwards on a powerful groove is even more evidence of having drunk from multiple fountains.
 
However, for anyone thinking this hodge-podge mixture would make Odium distinctive, that’s sadly not the case, since there are several bands who sound like this. The most notable among them may be Sylosis, who have followed a similar evolutionary path from slightly earlier in the millennium, cramming atmospheric alternatives into their most recent albums in the hope that it will make them stand out from the crowd. The same thing happens on Terraform, Odium constructing ambient interludes to lead into several tracks, plus a minor piano presence that opens ‘Dead’ in suitably haunting style, though the effect is just to make the basic ingredients all the more obviously plain and familiar. It should not be misconstrued from my comments that Terraform is an actively poor album, and in fact songs like ‘Feral Inversion’ are very satisfying, while ‘The Cell’ is an instrumental of interesting ideas and great lead work, but there just isn’t quite enough life and creativity to make the album as a whole stand out in this crowded field.
 
For anyone keen on the modern metal sound - including the production technique of muscling crunch and rhythm to the front of the sound - Odium and Terraform should provide an entertaining diversion that will cause your head to bang, your throat to roar, and the strings of your air guitar to snap off. However, for anyone even slightly familiar with the scene that this undoubtedly belongs to, there is just medium enjoyment and satisfaction to be gained from such a release.