To be completely honest, all I ever heard before of this German band was their demo called Odyssee Ins Verderben. This demo had a handful of very strong tracks of melancholic and arty black metal. The extremely bad production had a slightly negative effect on the melodic whole, but overall this was a strong demo. After that, the band released two splits and now this first full length clocking over an hour.

Odium Immortalis is a band that can make you feel comfortable in your own misery, regardless its presence. The band plays a very melodic and usually midtempo type of black metal with a stunning load of emotion. While the sound is rather primitive, the music itself is far from. However the band does not really create something unknown, this sound is rather original. The emotional atmosphere could be compared to that on famous songs like Seven Tears Are Flowing To The River, however the method is something else. Odium Immortalis remain changing throughout a song, and lots of different elements show up. Acoustic parts are not rare for example, and a healthy load of solos appears as well. To make a valid comparison, Trollskogen immediately came to mind musical wise.

The production is not as dreadful as on the demo, but still it is very thin. Somehow it is still fitting though, as the fragile beauty that the songs put forth is amplified through this kind of sound. Strangely for the genre, the bass clearly audible. This was a very good decision, for the bass parts on some of the songs contain very interesting melodies that contribute in the air of broken hope. The vocals take some time to get used to, they seem inspired on Nagelfar’s work, but are a lot rawer and tormenting. As in the mentioned Nagelfar, clean singing or talking goes hand in hand with the typical black metal screaming, however not as effective here. It seems that if the vocals were a little more polished, the whole could have worked even better. The lyrics are dealing with nature, depression, loss and such in a philosophical manner, and as far as my knowledge of the language goes, they are more like fine poems than the usual black metal hate. Especially the lyrics to Die Schönheit Der Einsamkeit moved me, in which poetry explains how to let nature enter and wash away all problems and dark feelings for the moment as long as it lasts. If I’m not misinterpreting this, a white crow is taken equivalent for this cleansed soul. In short, the lyrics are really worth reading. This proves again the non cliché stand the band takes, and this reflects in the image as well. The lack of corpsepaint and absence of typical satanic or hateful lyrics exhibit that Odium Immortalis is a perfect example of non-poser black metal.

The whole album is a huge step forward from the already good Demo, maintaining the standard of the best song of this demo, Geisel Der Menschheit. It was a good thing to add this outstanding song to the full length album, and as it’s not a song that really stands out on Die Schönheit Der Einsamkeit, it proves how the band has progressed. It is highly recommended to look into this original release, the vocals and production might be a little on the raw side to some, but for those who understand what this type of music is about, may it sing to your heart and relief whatever pain as it did with me.