Oddland – ‘Unilluminate To Illuminate’

(Frontiers Music)

Progressive Metal is a funny old beast. At its best, it can take you on a journey through twisting musical landscapes, throwing technical wizardry, atmosphere, emotion and genuinely memorable songwriting into the same melting pot. At its worst, however, it can become an exercise in showing the listener just how clever the musicians are without ever giving them a particularly compelling reason to keep listening. Sadly, Unilluminate to Illuminate from Oddland falls far too heavily into the latter category.

There is clearly an enormous amount of talent involved here. You can hear the musicianship, the ambition and the desire to create something sophisticated. The problem is that sophistication alone doesn't make an album enjoyable. For me, Unilluminate to Illuminate is an album that spends far too much time trying to impress and nowhere near enough time trying to connect.

From the opening moments, there is an undeniable sense that this is serious Progressive Metal. The arrangements are intricate, the rhythms frequently shift and the instrumentation is polished to within an inch of its life. Yet instead of producing that wonderful feeling of being swept away by a progressive masterpiece, I repeatedly found myself sitting back and thinking, where exactly is this going?

And that is ultimately the biggest problem.

There is a lack of immediacy here that makes the album difficult to embrace. I don't necessarily need every record to be packed with huge choruses and instantly accessible hooks, but even the most adventurous progressive albums need something that grabs the listener. Something memorable. Something that makes you want to hit play again. Unilluminate to Illuminate too often feels like the musical equivalent of being given a very complicated puzzle when all you really wanted was a great song.

The songwriting frequently feels overworked. Ideas are introduced, developed, twisted around and expanded, but the journey doesn't always feel rewarding. Complexity becomes the destination rather than the means to an end. There are plenty of interesting musical passages, but interesting and engaging are two very different things.

The production certainly doesn't help matters. Everything sounds clean and technically accomplished, but there is a clinical quality to the overall presentation that makes it difficult to become emotionally invested. Progressive Metal doesn't have to sound raw or dirty, but it does need atmosphere, personality and a sense of danger. Here, the precision sometimes comes at the expense of character.

Vocally, the album continues to suffer from the same fundamental issue. There is nothing particularly wrong with the performances from a technical standpoint, but they don't consistently provide the emotional focal point that the music desperately needs. Too often the vocals feel like another component in an elaborate arrangement rather than the human voice at the heart of the songs.

And that's something I find particularly frustrating because Progressive Metal can be incredibly emotional when it gets the balance right. Think about the albums that have stayed with you over the years. They may be technically brilliant, but chances are you remember how they made you feel just as much as you remember what the musicians were playing. Unfortunately, Unilluminate to Illuminate leaves much less of an emotional footprint.

The album also suffers from a pacing problem. At nearly every turn there seems to be another change, another rhythmic curveball or another elaborate musical idea. Variety is obviously welcome, but constant movement doesn't necessarily equal progression. Sometimes the most powerful thing a band can do is simply find a killer groove and let it breathe.

Here, I often found myself longing for the band to stop overcomplicating things and just rock.

There are moments where the quality of the musicianship shines through, and I can absolutely understand why Progressive Metal aficionados might find plenty to admire. Anyone who approaches music primarily from a technical perspective will probably discover a great deal to dissect. There is craftsmanship here, without question.

But I'm reviewing an album rather than marking a musicianship exam, and from that perspective I found Unilluminate to Illuminate frustratingly cold and inconsistent.

The title suggests a journey from darkness into light, but I personally found very little illumination along the way. Instead, the album often feels like wandering through an elaborately constructed maze without ever finding the exit. You can admire the architecture, but eventually you start wishing someone would simply show you the door.

That's not to say Oddland should abandon their progressive ambitions. Far from it. The answer isn't necessarily to simplify everything or suddenly start writing conventional radio-friendly rock songs. What they need is balance. The technical elements should serve the songwriting rather than dominate it. Give the listener something to latch onto. Give us melodies that stay in the head, emotional moments that hit the heart and sections that make us desperate to hear them again.

Because beneath all the complexity, there are glimpses of a band capable of much more.

Unfortunately, Unilluminate to Illuminate never consistently transforms those ingredients into something genuinely compelling. It's clever, ambitious and technically accomplished, but for me it is simply not enough fun to listen to.

Progressive Metal should take the listener somewhere unexpected. It should challenge the ears without completely abandoning the heart. Most importantly, it should make you want to return for another journey.

With Unilluminate to Illuminate, I found myself looking for the destination rather than enjoying the ride. Not a terrible album by any means, but one that ultimately left me cold, detached and reaching for something with a little more melody, warmth and soul.

There’s no denying that Oddland can play. Unilluminate to Illuminate is packed with technical ability, ambitious arrangements and enough progressive twists and turns to keep the most dedicated Prog Metal fan busy for hours. Unfortunately, technical proficiency only gets you so far. For me, this is an album that prioritises complexity over connection, leaving the melodies, emotion and memorable songwriting struggling to break through. I admire the ambition, but I simply don’t enjoy the journey enough to want to take it again. Too often it feels cold, clinical and overworked when what I’m looking for is something that grabs me by the throat and refuses to let go. Clever? Absolutely. Technically impressive? Without question. Enjoyable? Sadly, not for me!

2/10

Essential Track – ‘Red Canvas’

Review by Woody