Odious Spirit — The Treason of Consciousness

 Along with Cullen Gallagher on bass (Night Squad, Demoted, Bad Channels Records) and Daniel Torgal on drums (The Voynich Code, Enblood, Nephilim), the trio put forth a vibrant and breathing form of death metal that strives to challenge the boundaries of the very malleable genre. Utilizing varied guitar approaches, riffs, layers, and other inventive techniques, Odious Spirit propels itself into the void with grim precision and frantic fury.

 

Starting off with a strong, slower, traditional death metal sound, "Long Stretch of Bleeding Light" begins The Treason of Consciousness' journey into guitar experimentation by adding different structures and tones that allow Odious Spirit to break free from convention. Galloping overlaid with tremolo picking works in an interesting shade of interference, like a more propulsive version of harmonic dissonance. It is here that the listener sees the main focus of Odious Spirit - the guitars. Handled solely by the band's founder, James Oskarbski, the multiple tracks and layers work to tell the tale with fervor. In addition to this stringed storytelling, slick, tight, and expressive drum work couples with the guitars' pace and pulse to bolster the speedy attack. Keeping all of this frantic work grounded, the thick and plodding bass gives Consciousness a solid low end that thickens the mix and adds a nice juxtaposition to the often high flying guitars. While the opener is a great taste, "The Hissing Pyre" and its eleven minute glory really showcases what Odious Spirit is all about, and even with that runtime, it manages to keep its head high and avoid self-indulgence. The album takes a creative shift with "Illuminations," a darker, ominous, ritual of a piece that focuses more on freedom than tight structure, with its vocal tones hinting at a haunting ritual whose aims are unclear, but most likely will have terrifying results. "Gnawing the Fabric of Time" is more of a straight-forward slugfest, with its varied tempos and grooves, but coming off of the prior piece, it definitely helps to put the album through its paces. Here, we're introduced to spiraling guitar lines that swirl on top of each other in stultifying ways, letting the listener know just how treasonous one's consciousness can actually be. These dizzying strings reappear in the finale, "Unbending Follicle, Unending Blight." Continuing the confusion, Odious Spirit again change up tempos, with the added bonus of having either the bass or the vocals come to the front. Chugging and spinning for about eight and a half minutes, "Unbending" sends the album off on a very strong note.

 

The Treason of Consciousness is an ambitious work and a strong debut from Odious Spirit. For those seeking guitar-centric death metal, this frantic bit of psychedelic strings will certainly open new doors and perspectives. Picking apart the layers adds an extra delight for those looking for something other than straight chugging death, but those seeking stuff to thrash to will also be quite pleased. The album ends with what feels like a cliffhanger, so we can hope that Odious Spirit will be back soon with more dizzying tales to keep us on our journeys inward.