Odious are a band from Egypt that has had music reviewed before in this zine and on this recording plays a mixture of melodic black metal, Egyptian and Middle Eastern folk music and this is a review of their 2007 album "Mirror Of Vibrations" which was re-issued on vinyl in 2019 by Shaytan Productions.
Middle eastern folk music instruments, chanting and dancing start off the album while also mixing in with the heavier sections of the music at times. Synths are also added into some parts of the recording while the whispered vocals also give the songs more of a ritualistic feeling when they are utilized.
During the faster sections of the songs a decent amount of tremolo picking and blast beats can also be heard while the vocals are mostly grim black metal screams. A decent amount of melody can also be heard in the guitar riffing along with the songs also bringing in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts.
All of the musical instruments on the recording have a very powerful sound to them while the music also has its symphonic moments. When guitar solos and leads are utilized they are done in a very melodic style along with some acoustic guitars also being utilized at times as well as a great portion of the tracks being very long and epic in length.
Death metal growls can also be heard in certain sections of the recording while the black metal side of the music seems to more rooted rooted in the 90's style, melodic chants can also be heard briefly on the closing track. The production sounds very dark and heavy while the lyrics cover the past leaders of Egypt, philosophy, mystery and war themes.
In my opinion this was another great sounding recording from Odious and if you are a fan of melodic black metal with elements of Egyptian and Middle Eastern folk music, you should check out this re-issue. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Poems Hidden On Black Walls" "Invitation To Chaotic Revelation" and "Upon The Broken Wings". 8/5 out of 10.
www.shaytanproductions.com
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