Thursday, June 18, 2026

Black Odyssey--Black Odyssey (CD/LP) (2026 Independent)


Here's a band that gets it! They've released their own CD and LP physically, which is what bands should be doing! Now on to the music. For some reason, although this band's Archives page tells us they've been a band since 2010, this is their first full length and only release thus far, other than two singles prior to this record, likely in preparation for the album coming out. They give us dark heavy metal similar to modern Judas Priest, just without the vocal histrionics. Instead we get understated vocals that are similar to Halford's lower range, and they're fucking good. They're smooth and powerful and perfectly suited to the music. I have to commend them on a heavy, thick drum sound, which isn't always the case nowadays in this age of triggers and sound replacement. I can tell they were going the extra mile to get a good solid sound with a lot of what I call "wetness" to it. Some bluesy influences pop into the mix on the second track, "Bless Me Father," with its slow grind of a riff and emphatic vocals. It fits perfectly into the record with the tinges of doom in their songs. This is an incredible record for a first full length and I hope they continue to regularly make music. Every song is distinct and worthy of being on the record, and there are no songs where I felt like hitting the skip button. This is pretty dark stuff atmospherically, and there's no feel-good songs here, just shadowy riffs. Nine Euros gets you the digital album on Bandcamp, and with the way the mail is now with the fucking tariffs in place in the US, it's the best option for US fans to get this mighty slab of heavy metal.