From deep within the ancient Nordic forests, a place where the line between dream and reality fades, the northern wind whispers forgotten tales and the howls of wolves call to your soul, emerges Swedish melodic death metal band Odjur, who describe their music as “untamed, epic and melodic.”
Odjur, only formed last year by the trio of Hati (Gustaf, guitar and bass), Garm (Peter, vocals) and Skoll (David, production and soundscapes), aim to blend haunting melodies and epic soundscapes with crushing riffs. Their vicious yet engaging sound conjures images of vast wilderness and never-ending nights with a mission to spread the fire of Nordic metal across the world.
As Gustaf tells us: “Sometimes, you just need to let go of everything happening around you and lose yourself in heavy riffs, soaring melodies, and tales of epic adventures. That is what Odjur is all about. We love creating these stories together, and we have a damn good time doing it. Hopefully, we can reach a few other lost souls out there who enjoy listening to them. The three of us come from different musical backgrounds, but as we’ve grown older (and maybe a little wiser), we finally got our shit together and started a melodic death metal band.
“Our sound is both brutal and melodic, a combination of darkness and light inspired by the long Nordic winters, as well as the endless Swedish summer nights. We try to capture the untamed beauty of the old Nordic forests, and the beasts that lurk within them.”
Our first taste of this is Odjur’s debut single Glory To The Fallen, which was released last month. It opens up in dramatic fashion, instantly conjuring up images of something evil lingering in a dark, misty Nordic forest with heavy stabbing guitars and methodical drums supported by eerie choral backing vocals. The instrumentals build in intensity alongside repeats of “centuries… of destruction,” which drop into a lively guitar lick supporting gruff vocals. Heavy stabbing guitars support growled chorus vocals, before a cool little guitar solo leads us back into a verse driven forward by lively guitars. A return of the “centuries” vocals gives way to another huge guitar solo, which drops into a threatening chorus. A little guitar flurry sets up a final blast of the chorus to bring the track to a powerful conclusion.
On the track, Gustaf said: “The reception for our first single has been great so far, and we received a lot of positive feedback from all around the world. We are super excited to get more songs out as fast as we can. Glory To The Fallen is a tribute to the warriors who gave their lives to protect others. It’s an epic story and a powerful and melodic track.”
The Odjur sound has been heavily influenced by Swedish legends Arch Enemy, for their blend of power and tight melodies, and Amon Amarth, for their massive soundscapes, Nordic
themes and storytelling. And, Gustaf tells us: “Like any Swede who’s ever picked up a stringed instrument, we have to mention Yngwie Malmsteen. More is more!”
While the inspiration for their music, as touched on above, comes from the scenery they live in. “Our surroundings here in the north provide a vast variety of elements that inspire us,” Gustaf explains. “The dramatic difference in nature throughout the seasons of the year is a great source of inspiration. In our music we aim to capture the essence of a frostbitten winter morning, just as the sun desperately tries to break through the thick fog. The themes of our songs revolve around Norse mythology, howling beasts, frost and fire.”
If you like what you heard from Odjur, then the good news is you won’t have long to wait for more. The band plans to release their second single Evil Rising, which is currently in the final stages of mixing and mastering, early next month. And there’s much more where that came from with the band having plenty of songs in the pipeline ready to release throughout the rest of the year.
As Gustaf tells us: “We’re constantly working on new material, and we’re determined to grow our pack of followers around the world. We hope people enjoy listening to our music as much as we enjoy making it. Our dream, of course, is to one day meet our listeners in a live setting. So if you like what you hear… Enter the forest. Embrace the beast. Join the pack!”
You can follow Odjur on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud.
Listen to Odjur and more new music on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Core, GigRadar Metal and GigRadar Nordic
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