...wilde Kraft

What the band Trollech lacked was the right production to give off that certain atmosphere, making you feel right at home in the woods. I referred listeners to this band, but I specifically had this album in mind. Generally, both Trollech and Odal play the same style of music, but Odal have the upper hand with the production and come off sounding much like Drudkh.

Vocals are quieter than the rest of the instruments, sort of echoing from tree to tree as they scream and gurgle from a cavern deep in the forest. They’re very haunting and beastly, like some wood-critter on the prowl that’s ready to feast on some poor, uncharted wanderer. The entire album is muffled like Drudkh’s Forgotten Legends, which help give it a distinct sound that I was hoping to hear with music like this. The album at times can sound really evil, but moreso do I feel comforted, at peace, and warm.

The riffs themselves are indecisive when it comes to a blistering attack, but they get the job done mostly as tremolo while holding melodic lead undertones. Coupled with the buzzy bass, the mixture makes for a thick tone dampened with honey to make it taste sweet – I can literally taste it. Drumming is productive like Drudkh’s, but rather than cold they’re aiding and very catchy. They do sound quiet, especially the double bass, which doesn’t come off anymore than simple thuds at ground level that are pretty buried in dirt. It’s still jovial and more than makes up for the lacking sound.

While there’s very little variation between the songs, its still an enjoyable experience that’ll make you feel right at home. Its pagan black metal that doesn’t really become folk, but still caters to those who would enjoy it. It’s a cross between Nagelfar and Drudkh with a soothing tone and humble atmosphere that will make you feel at peace with the forest.

Odal achieves a distinctive style of black metal on Wilde Kraft. Vivid drumming takes the spotlight, while twin rhythm guitars weave engaging melodies over a background of cold, distant vocals.

The guitar work is quite basic; there are no leads, and only a few exhibitions of staccato pick work. For the most part the guitars supply a steady trem picked buzz, often doubling each other with the occasional tasteful counterpoint accent. Instances where the two lines diverge completely provide some of the album's most intriguing moments.

Odal really seem to love crafting riffs with a call-and-response character, where one measure makes a bold musical statement, and the following measure effectively replies, resolving the tension introduced in the first. Such 2-measure structures repeat at length, with the occasional unforeseen transition or tempo change.

The drumming varies from midpaced to hyperfast, injecting a healthy dynamic into the songs. The drums take full advantage of their positioning at the fore of the mix, as they entertain the listener with lively and diverse patterns interspersed with elaborate fills.

The vocals are fantastic, a bit reminiscent of Ihsahn's voice during Emperor's early days. The vocal lines are slow paced and mixed so low as to be nearly relegated to background noise, which is quite a chilling effect.

Standout tracks include "Flammendes Schwert", with riveting counterpoint sections, and "Gabe Der Vollkommenheit", featuring a wealth of catchy rhythms. The band has a tendency to recycle some musical themes from song to song, and the songwriting "cop-out" of closing a song with a gradual fade out rather than authoring a conclusive ending is perhaps overused here. But even with a few minor flaws, Wilde Kraft is catchy, creative, and fun.

With Wilde Kraft, Odal refines their sound to possibly the closest thing to perfection I've discovered in black metal. They've sharpened their black metal spear so sharp it pierces mind and spirit. Wilde Kraft has the strongest production values, delivering the most assertive of Odal's material.

The vocals stay seated in the middle of the mix, not over powering at any point. Like a calm voice narrating with a somber poem. The drums are always fitting, and much more tight than on previous albums.

The guitars here play the melodies of the forest. This is the essence of Pagan black metal. Every riff is filled with emotion and passion, which seems to come out so effortlessly. On the instrumental interlude Die Rast Unter Der Eiche, three acoustic guitars play an entrancing, atmospheric ode to the wild. This track is genuinely engaging, it really puts you in a trance.

The production is close to perfection. Raw in the right way, in the way that I can imagine the band just playing, nothing seems added or taken away from the music. It creates the richest atmosphere, and it somehow presents this bands mentality flawlessly.

There is something about this band's music that just seems intangible, and ineffable. Something special that I can't really describe. It's soothing, in all it's bittersweet metallic fury. Branded with the unique mark of Odal. Awe-inspiring in it's unadulterated emotions. This is a thing that has been lost among gimmicks of playing faster, clearer production, being "brutal" or "evil". This is something that has been lost in the wake of a decreasing sense of intelligence and emotion in metal. This is something that whether sought after or not, is very seldom achieved. I could put this album on at any moment, regardless of my mood and it would engulf me in it's aura. It would take me deep into the endless benighted woods where this band seems to draw it's inspiration. A black metal benchmark, something of a masterpiece.

The undying force that are Odal, have brought Pagan BM into a new era. The construction of the songs on "...Wilde Kraft" beat all, in every respect, that i have heard on the PBM scene. This album tops and defines the art form, however, the definition has been reworked, for now the sub-genre has been redefined with this behemoth of pagan black art.

The album works in a manner that one would fail to find on other PBM releases. The structure of the album works as an effective entirety, instead of treating each song with its seperate feeling. One recognizes an underlying mood in terms of continuity that one would really only find in Depressive BM, Atmospheric BM, or Ambient BM/Blakk NoiseA: each song serves Odal's album to create an atmosphere that is unbroken throughout the duration. That concept is much like the musical compositions of the aforementioned sub-genres; however, Odal obviously tackles it with the unmistakable sound of PBM.

Odal's music has made a breakthrough and advancement. Unlike the achievements of "Sturmes Brut," there are few major chord stuctures on this album and many minor, thus giving the album the sense of longing and sorrow not fully aquired in Odal's first full-length. " Sturmes..." was a masterful album in itself, far from being devoid of minor chords, however, it never fully displayed the band's full potential.

With "...Wilde Kraft" the band still perpetuates the divinity of minimalism, but yet advances further to create a kind of 'mock' minimalism in places. The chord progressions are much more advanced on this album than on their last. If anything, their last full-length had a sense of predictability in the minimalist progressions of the songs, which is not wholy unappealing. "...Wilde...," however, has guitar layering that is an embelishment, though subtle, that was lacking on "Sturmes...".

The chord progressions of this album become unpredictable when it reaches the climax of certain riffs: one thinks that the riff will end up in a standard chord, but there might be a chord inversion in major or minor etc. Even though partially unpredictable there is still Odal's classic sense of minimalism. The guitar layering gives an enormous amount of atmosphere to the music, but bass and drums add to this of course. The album was under better production than their last, and because of this, even though the bass follows the guitar for the most part, one can hear it apart and distinguish it easily. The drums came out well in the mix. The bass drums are a bit lower on the mix, so they are not as clear. Though, with Odal's development as a band, it has become apparent that this is their style of recording, and in that sense, the drum production is not untrue to the band. The drums were more advanced on this album as well, straying from the convention of black metal drumming slightly, playing on upbeats and such, as well as more diversity in the single-foot bass rhythyms.

There is an acoustic guitar folk based song that takes place in the middle of the album (track 5), but does not take away from the atmosphere of the whole, and fits perfectly. The last song exhibits a fiddle and some drums which i can not place the name of, then goes into distortion and regular drumset. Both of these songs are well executed and do not take away from the album, in my oppinion, though i am sure that is something that could be contested with.

All in all this album is perfect for the sub-genre that it is in. I would challenge you to find something more beautiful and mourning, as well as reminiscent of the Germanic past in the Germanic Pagan Black Metal scene. For the band though, I think it will be a challenge for them to put out something that tops this, and i will be wary in the future about their upcoming releases. Without changing their sound and what they are known for as a band, i think it will be hard for them to put out another work worthy of their supremacy in the scene.