Style: Metalcore (mixed vocals)
Review by: Josh
Country: United States (Florida)
Release date: 07-08-2020
Over the past few years, something fascinating has been occurring in metal. Synths, generally only heard in a few subgenres, have become increasingly adopted by metal bands of all styles and genres, adding a new dynamic to the genre’s sound. Not to the point where they dominate it, but enough to make things spicy.
Steps of Odessa take a base metalcore sound and sprinkle synths in as another instrument in the rhythm section. Before talking about the synths, though, let’s get into what Steps of Odessa are at their (metal)core. The instrumentation is fairly typical of the genre. Riffs, chugs, soaring choruses, and breakdowns. Everything’s well-performed for the most part, with the guitar work and drumming as clear standouts. The mixing does them justice, with everything they play sounding punchy and right up in the listener’s face. However, it does the bassist dirty. They’ve been mixed out of existence, which is a shame considering how good they sound in the moments where they’re audible. I can forgive them, though, given how great everything else sounds. All of the riffs are interesting and barely any of the tracks overstay their welcome. In particular, R.E.M., the album’s heaviest track, is just standout riff after riff after riff. Overall, the instrumentation’s a few cuts above your average metalcore band (and to anyone who’d make a snarky comment about how that isn’t exactly a high bar, I don’t think this is the band for you).
Throughout the album, the band takes several different approaches to their use of synths, with each one adding something unique to the track. My favorite out of these is a symphonic metal-esque style, where the synths work in the background to build upon the riffs and fill out the album’s sound. They also take center stage from time to time, working as a base for the rest of the band to build off of. This really comes in clutch during the breakdowns, where oftentimes the guitarist needs something extra to work off of in order to make them work. Sometimes, though, it feels like the synth player isn’t quite sure what to do and just mirrors the main riff. They’re mixed really low most of the time that this happens, too. I’m not entirely certain what the point of these parts are, as they rarely contribute much to the song.
Despite the flaws I’ve mentioned so far, though, this is quite a strong debut. It’s not perfect, yes, but there are more than enough interesting ideas and cool riffs here to balance out its flaws. Some songs are just straight-up killer, too, especially the last two tracks. To anyone who likes metalcore, give these dudes a listen. They’ve got a pretty rad take on the genre, and I’m excited to see what they do next.
Recommended tracks: Enemy of Creation, R.E.M., Goddess
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Fleshgod Apocalypse, mid-era Bring Me The Horizon
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook
Label: Independent
Steps of Odessa is:
Matthew Wassum (Drums)
Paul Kalugdan (Guitar/Vocals)
Matthew Gutkin (Synth/Keys)
Robert Wassum (Vocals)
Peter Fleites (Guitar/Production)
Keith Landrum (Bass)
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