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ODIOUS SPIRIT “The Sourceless Scourge”
ODIOUS SPIRIT “The Sourceless Scourge”
By Dr. Abner Mality
If you like plenty of widdly-diddly and mathematical precision in your death metal, ODIOUS SPIRIT will likely float your boat. If you seek primitive crush and relentless morbidity, you better keep looking, pardner. This is dissonant tech-death laid out like an equation.
The name VOI VOD is invoked frequently in the press sheet but I actually think ODIOUS SPIRIT is way more reminiscent of GORGUTS with its heavy reliance on dissonance and offbeat time signatures. VOI VOD has a quirkiness that is almost homely in a way, but ODIOUS SPIRIT is colder and more angular. “The Sourceless Scourge” gives us five tracks of moderate length in the six to nine minute range and each one is exploratory almost in the style of freeform fusion. It is a style that only a select few can fully appreciate.
There are definitely some strong riffs to be found here, but the music is based much more on cascading guitar arpeggios and motifs, often repeated to the point of annoyance. “True Non-Existence” in particular relies on an arpeggio repeated almost to infinity, while manic drums and bass offer a counterpoint that creates a dizzying feel. James Oskarbski is the axeman and ODIOUS SPIRIT revolves around him, but I would argue that drummer Jason Bursese is just as much the draw. His frantic yet precise drumming keeps things interesting.
“Interesting” is how I would describe the band and the music, but it’s not something that grabs you by the scruff of the neck and turns you into a frothing metal beast. “The Sourceless Scourge”, like much tech-death, is too driven by a mechanical heart to seem like a human product.
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