Odyrmos1 is an atmospheric black metal act from Greece. November 15th, 2024, sees the release of their upcoming EP/demo, “The Neverending Journey,” which will be released through Dragefjellet Records.
Odyrmos, The Neverending Journey: This review will evaluate every aspect of the album, from its intricate musical composition to its production. Our analysis will provide valuable insights to help you determine if this album is worth adding to your collection.
The First Three Sins of The Neverending Journey
Let’s start by discussing the first three sins of Odyrmos and their album, The Neverending Journey
The First Sin, The Strings/Keys: Features straightforward blackened, raw and aggressive riffs with tremolo picks, with atmospheric keys that add depth and a haunting aura. The Second Sin, The Vocals: Involves in haunting and ghostly shrieks. The Third Sin—The Percussions: Delves into a vast world of thunderous drum work with plenty of blast beats.
The Fourth Sin: Overall Discussion: Transporting the souls of the deceased from the world of the living to the realm of the dead
Immediately as the listener presses that play button, the opening piece Black Flames takes the listener on a journey about Greek mythology, the underworld, often referred to as Hades (the concept of a journey to the underworld is known as a katabasis. This term, derived from the Greek words for “down” (κατά) and “go” (βαίνω), refers to the descent into the realm of the dead, also known as Hades), a dark and mysterious realm where the dead reside. One of the notable features of the underworld is the river Phlegethon, which is described as a river of fire.2
Odyrmos is a new band for me, after approaching us with their upcoming release “The Neverending Journey.” With only two songs, Black Flames and The Neverending Journey spread across fifteen minutes. Odyrmos has everything to offer for any black metal fan and listener, dark, raw and straightforward black metal in the vein of traditional/old-school black metal, and what more could you ask for? Especially those who love traditional, Hellenic and atmospheric black metal.
The composition of both songs, music/score, instrumentation and vocals, which provided and delivered to the listener’s ears by this two-person fruit of art devilmanship. The guitar features straightforward blackened riffs with tremolo picking, thunderous drums with plenty of blast beats, and atmospheric keys that add depth. At the same time, it adds this haunting aura to the music and atmosphere, and the vocals are what you could ask for — haunting and ghostly.
Both songs are composed with perfection, both songs are not rushed, but well, suctioned with perfection. At the same time, the sound quality and production are also floored with perfection, every tone, note, chord, and beat can be heard throughout the two songs.
Odyrmos is only a two-song EP, but providing us with an EP and a review will make you go and check out their other work. Not to be missed.
The album comes to an end. We want to give a shoutout to Odymos for letting us review their upcoming release, The Neverending Journey. Now, we’re going to wrap it up by talking about the final three sins and concluding the review.
The Last Three Sins
Let’s discuss the last three sins of Odyrmos and their album, The Neverending Journey
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia:
I was truly captivated by both of these songs, particularly by the way they were composed. The middle section of “The Neverending Journey” was especially striking to me, particularly the dark guitar solo. It was not solely a solo; rather, it resembled an instrumental break or a capture of the theme, leading to another potent raw emotion of black metal.
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork:
I love the artwork, it has the feeling of looking into a picture, but in a picture. At the same time, the artwork captures the theme of the music.
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish:
Nothing to disrelish within the musical spectrum of Odyrmos, and their album The Neverending Journey.
This concludes the Odyrmos, The Neverending Journey review.
Track-listing:
- Black Flames
- The Neverending Journey
Odyrmos Is:
- Andrew Tsekrekos: all instruments
- Alan Brucke: vocals
- ‘Οδυρμός’ (Odyrmos) is Hellenic for ‘Lament‘. ↩︎
- Depicted as having black flames, symbolizing the torment and chaos found in the deepest parts of the underworld, particularly in Tartarus. Tartarus is a pitch-black, burning pit where the most wicked souls are punished. It’s a place of eternal fire and suffering, contrasting with the more serene areas like the Elysian Fields, which are reserved for the virtuous. ↩︎
Band/Artist Links:
