Review / 200 Words Or Less
Odious Mortem
Cryptic Implosion

Willowtip (2007) M.J.

Odious Mortem – Cryptic Implosion cover artwork
Odious Mortem – Cryptic Implosion — Willowtip, 2007

Odious Mortem's website describes their sound as employing "technical, dark, and experimental aspects of the death metal genre." When I think death metal I think Nile, Suffocation, maybe even Slayer. Odious Mortem are what Slayer might sound like if you replaced Kerry King with a jet engine. Vaguely reminiscent of early Fear Factory and Dillinger Escape Plan, for the most part Cryptic Implosion just feels long-winded. I mean, let's take a sample lyric:

"Cumulative idelogies the convergence of intentions. Forced schizophrenia by these vast abstractions of life disguised by false utility."

This sort of foolishness goes on and on and it just leaves me exasperated. Not confused or impressed; just shaking my head and wondering if the next track will have anything different to offer. I know Carcass did the whole big words thing too ("Brittle testes eroded in hot, corrosive succus") but at least they were cohesive. The album even ends on a coolly cosmological note, à la Cult of Luna, yet any potential enigma is lost in the preceding assault. It's all suitably extreme enough to satisfy those who crave this kind of off-the-hookiness, but I'm left wondering why they even bothered putting breaks between the identical-sounding songs.

4.0 / 10M.J. • July 12, 2007

Odious Mortem – Cryptic Implosion cover artwork
Odious Mortem – Cryptic Implosion — Willowtip, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

Painkiller

The Great God Pan
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller, the trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris shows no signs of slowing down. The Great God Pan is their third full-length, since their reunion in 2024, and in many ways it is an unexpected offering. In keeping with their interests in the metaphysical realm, Painkiller find inspiration from the famed Arthur Machen horror novella. Here, the … Read more

Painkiller

The Equinox
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller sees three absolute masters of extreme music join forces. John Zorn of Naked City and a billion other projects, Mick Harris who transcended from Napalm Death drummer to illbient guru with Scorn, and producer extraordinaire Bill Laswell. Their first two records, Guts of a Virgin and Buried Secrets are strange meditations traversing between free-jazz, grindcore and dub. Still hungry … Read more

Dauber

Falling Down
Recess (2025)

The lazy approach would be to call Dauber "ex-Screaming Females," but that barely scratches the surface. If I had to pick one band to namedrop a comparison to, it would be labelmates Night Court. They play a familiar style but with a lot of quirks that set it apart from the genre standard-bearers. It's driving and energetic -- more importantly, … Read more