Interview with Odem.

Odem have gained a lot of attention through their debut album Rape Your God and Pray for Reprieve. Black/death songwriting simply cannot get better than this in these days. For music journalists, especially, it is always tempting to conduct interviews with bands like this. Odem are currently one of the best bands from Russia. The debut album was a very remarkable which sounds technical, chaotic and brutal! I conducted this interview for Imhotep Webzine. Now they are working on second full length album and they say. 

We’re densely busy about the stuff for the next album at the moment. It’s our main objective now."

“Rape Your God and Pray for Reprieve” came as a breath of fresh air, and metal aficionados instantly took Odem’s music. It was not a formulaic album. Music is very interesting and unique. Uniqueness is something that is forgotten all too often in the music scene these days. Could you may be give us some info’s  about how you've managed to create something different and were you got influence from?

To be honest, there was no certain idea to create something drastically new, we just realized our ideas of oeuvre, trying to make such a musical canvas, that would satisfy us, ourselves, first. I would not say we had some particular influences through making the Album. Often we worked intuitively, interspersing those details needed to conclude the right result for us. When satisfaction was achieved, the album got its existence.

I realized how profound and masterfully crafted Rape your God… It is as close to perfection as a modern blackened death metal can be. The label played a big role. The album was originally self-released but later officially released on CD by Daemon Worship Productions in December 2011. Not only did they do an excellent job with the production of the CD besides they promoted Odem via trading, advertising and radio etc. I quote “Odem created by you but shaped by the listeners”. How the deal with DWP did come along? In their roster includes such notable acts as Necrosadist, Svartidaudi, Nefandus, Funeral Goat and Serpent Noir among others.

After spreading “RYGAPFR” as a promo, there came a demand to purchase it officially by worthy label with suitable outlook. After long time taken by searching for a suitable one, we focused on Daemon Worship Prod. Victor took interest in our stuff, and soon the pact’d been achieved. DWP and Odem have a contiguous view on some important ideological terms, that’s why, having common interests, purposes and ideas; we succeed with finding common ground.

Besides just released an EP called “The Valley of Cut Tongues”. You just bestowed us with another killer release. The guitar works are pretty technical in nature with nice groovy/slam vocal parts but for me, it’s bringing nothing new to the table. A more proper term would perhaps be brutal death metal. Tell us about the production on it. What were you trying to achieve when composing The Valley of Cut Tongues?

First, that what’s interpreted on MCD, was to become part of the second album. But then it was clear that those anthems are to be put on a separate release, to make’em look what they deserve to look like. Thus, “The Valley of Cut Tongues” was born.

The only way I can comment the EP is that it has imbibed the strongest from “RYGAPFR”, but was provided with a fair share of aggression and roughness, that, for me, we've been short of. It was intentionally not to employ kinds of supernovas, for it’s not shape being primary in this case, but sense.  Nevertheless, the displays of our arts increased a lot. This MCD’s motivation and that of all our acts per se, is well reflected in lyrics, not in their separate meaning in concrete chapter, but the whole pastoral of ODEM.

The vocals are also impressive on new release. Well, it’s awesome. Atmosphere is achieved with the right production techniques, anyway. Nowadays the situation of metal scene is quite the same everywhere, I prefer to search something inspiring in art besides Black and death metal has seen a dramatic change in the past a few years. Many bands with new sounds, themes and thoughts! The listeners want to hear something new as they wish that the bands should experiment with music like Ulcerate or Negative Plane do. These bands bring out a fresh air in today's metal scenario with their brand of unadulterated music. Don’t you feel that there has been a difference in the tastes of metal fans as well?

Tastes definitely differ. More often than frequently I meet people, who strongly and faithfully claim themselves fans of what was sought-after 20 years ago, calling this passion a cute term “old-school-adherence”. On the contrary, some of listeners search for something radically emergent and fresh in music, and in this case we may agree that evolution is to be raised, but it must be at least well-balanced. I can’t be against experiments, especially when they succeed and validate themselves as the things go with Ulcerate and Deathspell Omega. But according to practice, most of experimental representations we are having today in Death and Black metal don’t present any seriousness and durability. Nevertheless, each one runs his own path. As for Odem in this issue – we do not pursue target to gain maximum of innovations itself. As I’ve already mentioned, we work more intuitively.

I want to know that what your views on extreme metal are. Cult of Flesh is an awesome composition of splendid grace and speed. The vocalist brought in immense variety in his vocalization and guitarist did his best to support vocals. Satanskin is a well-structured song in a good way. Healing Catalepsy, a very well-written song for me. The Valley of Cut Tongues is all about speed and destruction!

Honestly, Odem performs no interest in such workshops as ‘underground’, ‘extreme metal-scene’, etc. Few serious bands and too much affectation, mock artificiality and “homunculusness” in all that. We prefer being outside that ‘hippodrome’.

This EP is just barely twenty minutes long. Why has there been two years long gap since your debut album in 2010? Are you guys playing in other bands as well? 

Such long pause does not mean a thing, as we are not bounded by any commitments, contracts or other useless conventions. Also we’re against “manufacturing” albums, as it’s often seen with plenty of bands. We need to feel satisfied with the stuff we create, that’s the basic clue. So, in order to be sated we may need unlimited interim. None of ODEM members are involved in other projects for rather a long time.

What do you think makes your band unique in terms of approach music compared to other bands in your country? Or general. Odem came as a separate unit after the split up of a death metal formation named Deviant Prophet in 2008.

The attitude to music as to it’s adeptness and skill grade  and to all that matters we affect in our lyrics. I've already answered this question partly before, we prefer maximally distancing from contacting with all the gatherings.

Do you think death metal bands have become less important now from the days when you started your band Deviant Prophet? Was that why you decided to quite Deviant Prophet and created Odem?

That wasn't  Deviant Prophet’s non viability as of a sterling squad – that is why it’s stopped. Death Metal, as a genre, couldn't afford us with ability to realize our ideas fully within the confines of D.P. Odem gives us fertile “foothold” to develop in our origination exertions, balancing among few manners, realizing our potential at no allowance. So, the following should be said: even if D.P. had not split up, we would still have established ODEM.

Crucifixion – His blessing is a refreshing composition of technique, style and grace. People compare Odem with Mitochondrion or Ulcerate. I think there might be something in such a comparison but I hear so many different influences, and it all works together really well. The album sounds like taking blackened death metal to new heights.

It’s possibly right. I prefer not to try any comparing, for Odem is Odem. I’d choose to perceive things how they appear.

Hails as the Weapon of Hatred - guitar works are majestic and alternate drums. The vocals, by the way, are absolutely brilliant. I think the band’s philosophical outlook is so enrich and music also consolidates your philosophical and intellectual vision. “I came to preach, knowledge is my present… It’s the Abyss what I’m carrying in my heart…” You depict your deep-rooted philosophies and ideas through your music. I liked that Odem are truthful in their beliefs. 

Thanks. You've correctly noticed the candor of philosophic visions, for there’s no sense in bargain with self, acting self-deifying and indulging too humane illusions about own significance on the self-chosen track. It shouldn’t be forgotten about human understanding’s finiteness and about negligibility of human being as it is. Destruction of own humaneness in all its displays, leads us necessarily to abolition of false perception.

The lyrics come with many more ideas whereas anybody can understand the lyrics on the debut album at once. There are a lot of details that can be found in the lyrics. What are your views on religions? There is an impressive thought from the mind of ‘Elizabeth Cady Stanton’ that is “the immutable laws of the universe can teach more impressive and exalted lessons than the holy books of the all religions on earth”.

ODEM is a religious formation mostly, and it’s easy to see that metaphysical and theological terms mean fundamentally a lot for us. Many aspects of our research originate in monotheism, but some exertions of our arts are headed to some other spheres, more fleshly.

My views and my comprehension of matters can’t help forbidding me to exclude displays of Cruel Will, transfusing the creation. But I can partly agree with the statement before, for all those spiritual references that we are having today, are only a drop of that we are to discover in fact. Thereby, we need to search for truth in physical perspectives that surround us.

Does the band take inspiration from other bands or other forms of art? Do you think that Satan and Christian related themes are such vague concepts today as completely irrelevant in 21st century? 

Other spheres of art, such as literature, pictorial art or cinema might influence on identity of each member of the band, but the inspiration comes from other, transcendental experiences.The Devil and Christian motives, with other of any divine manifestations generally, mean clearer lineament for those who have eyes to see. And these topics will be relevant regardless the time periods, including 21st century.

What does the song VII deal with? The lyrics on it are strong. There are brutal vocals/riffs and less drone dissonant chords.

“VII” reflects my impressions, mirrors my thoughts and feelings, focused at metaphysical autopsy, and projected onto originative plane, by symbols, surreal forms/images and archetypes of that what’s beyond. The song is pretty abstract and self-abandoned, some kind of a materialized, uncontrolled stream of mind, a projection of morbidity and disgust in musical shape. Working on it I let my mind build perfect pictures of the universe on canvases of hatred, building images of “Nothing” at the mental heights of my own visions of benediction, own vision of reality, followed by aversion to it.

It is deeply satisfying when complex songs such as Completing Myself  and Tortured by Razors engage the listeners on multiple levels and offer takeaways both ecstatic and intellectual but I could not find these feeling on recently released EP. Those bass tunes on Tortured by Razors are still ring a bell in my head. Man, do you think have you got ideas for second full-length album already?

Now a major portion of stuff for the new album is done, and according to what we are having today, it’s clearly going to be our best piece. It also needs to be mentioned that second LP is a direct extension of our first act, but much heavier and more sinister. The record-session is planned to happen in second half of 2013. Till then we’ll keep consummating the stuff we already have, bringing new ingredients to our art.

It’s heard that there might be a split between Odem and Excommunion. Tell about it. Okay, let me conclude this interview here and ask final question to you. Any plans for live performances in support of the new release?

It might be. There were some arrangements with Excommunion, but nothing concrete was gained. Now all that is just possible plans for future.Due to some obstacles live performances can’t happen in the close future.