odradekroom-bardorelativereality-reviews

Review from Metal Music Archives

Sat, 14 Jun 2014 20:24:54 +0100

From: Metal Music Archives

Published: June 9, 2014

"Bardo. Relative Reality" is the debut full-length studio album by Ukranian doom/detah metal act Odradek Room. The album was released through Hypnotic Dirge Records in March 2013. The band´s name derives from "Die Sorge des Hausvaters", which is a short story by Franz Kafka, featuring a creature named "Odradek".

The Kafka linked band name is actually pretty well chosen as Odradek Room´s music share a bit of the same surreal expression as some of Kafka´s work. Stylistically the music on "Bardo. Relative Reality" is at it´s root doom/death metal, but there is a semi-progressive quality to the songwriting and especially the track structures that make this more than just another doom/death metal release. The music is generally not that complex but the band still display an adventurous songwriting style. The music features both slow doomy riffing, atmospheric post rock/metal sections and more melodic tinged sections. The vocals vary between death metal growls, occasional clean singing and melancholy drenched spoken word sections.

Odradek Room don´t really remind me of any particular doom/death artist and therefore references are hard to make, but despite that they are not wildly original either. I don´t hear anything on "Bardo. Relative Reality", that I haven´t heard before, but the way the band combine the elements is pretty effective. The band are well playing and that´s a positive too. The sound production is a bit of a show stopper though. It´s not terrible by any means, but the guitar sound could have been better. Especially the clean guitars, which sound slightly underproduced (demo sounding). It´s not a major issue though.

"Bardo. Relative Reality" wasn´t an album that impressed me right off the bat, but the longer I got into the album, the music unfolded with rich variation and melancholic depth. So upon conclusion I can say that it´s an interesting doom/death metal album. It´s not perfect to my ears and especially the sound production could have been better, but Odradek Room profits on their varied songwriting.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review from Deaf Sparrow Webzine

Sat, 03 May 2014 20:29:54 +0100

From: Deaf Sparrow Webzine

Published: May 1, 2014

Original Link

No no no, we didn’t improperly write the title, that’s how it appears verbatim on the album cover, so give us a break. We don’t correct grammar and syntax errors of bands if they’re being “artistic” for us. Especially if they assist us with their knowledge, explaining the meaning of the Tibetan word ‘bardo’ on which this album is based. And the art, it’s some sort of abstract expressionist thing with thick, red paint “based on the picture of Alena Svelitskaya,” whoever that is. We tried searching in Russian, but since these guys are Ukrainian (yes different alphabet), that ruined us from the start. We like artistic, we like to think, as long as it doesn’t tease at our rage and isn’t forced down our throats. There’s nothing worse than being force-fed ideology that’s really just a bunch of urine sprayed on a canvas. We’ll let that go for Odradek Room, because this is a fine release overall, and in fact it’s a reissue because it was previously released in 2012 in digital format. For a band this unknown, you go in with low expectations, especially with the progressive and doom tags being thrown around their Facebook page sans proper capitalization, so perhaps that enabled us to accept most of it more readily.

Bardo. Relative reality is a multi-layered selection covering more than the two genres mentioned above. There’s tons of depth to be found; beautiful chords, depressing dirge riffs, echoing sadness, clean-tone vocals, roars and screams, and some etc. to end our rambling. References to the Tibetan Book of the Dead aren’t so unique, even in the world of metal, but finally you have a case here where you can ignore most of that ‘typical’ to pay attention to the grit. Odradek Room, on the positive side, have a great command of atmosphere. They know how to touch the right chords at the right moments, and they usually have an intuitive grasp of the listener’s attention capacity, specifically when to lead into a sick riff, how long to let it ride, and just when to end it so you’re waiting for it again. Check out that killer heart-ripper around 8:30 mark in “A Painting (digging into the canvas with oil)” to get a clue. Their ability to go from acoustic to hard is notable, as well, though at times they can dip too far into emotion without the proper beast to pick it back up when it needs to tear again. In addition, it can sometimes take forever to go where it needs to, but we’ll come back to that in a bit.

Actually make that right now. There’s an eerie quality to the majority of the music on Bardo. Relative reality that really serves to grasp the listener, and the amount of variety is incredible, but it’s stretched over practically a full hour of tracks. Odradek Room can bring it when they need to bring it, minus the times when the guitars can sound a little frail. That can be ignored because of the direction they’re going for. But when they’re not bringing it, it can grow tiresome, and that’s the main complaint about this album. The amount of time each song takes to reach fruition will tax, then audit, the most patient of listeners and sometimes the shifts from melancholy to monster are tied too strongly to distance. Distance is the key element here, because though some of these tracks develop and develop hard, like they’re beautiful even, it can take them over seven minutes to get where they’re going. In addition, at least two of them are essentially acoustic fillers and you might as well move on to the next because you have a lot of ground to cover to get a true feel for it. But despite this issue, Bardo. Relative reality is an excellent representation of the Eastern European scene, which via its history has always been known for intense rumination and the bitter necessity in suffering.

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by: Stanley Stepanic

Review from Volumes of Sin Webzine

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:33:36 +0100

From: Volumes of Sin Webzine

Published: March 18, 2014

Original Link

Although Ukrainian four-piece act Odradek Room have only been formed since 2010, they initially started off under the name Shards of Silence in 2008. Initially recorded in early 2012 and released in only digital format, Odradek Room have rerecorded and re-released their debut full-length album, Bardo. Relative Reality, under Hypnotice Dirge Records in 2013. How does this record, based on ideas taken from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, fair in the underground world of doom metal?

Despite the rerecording of Bardo. Relative Reality the album quality still sounds fairly compressed, this trait stands out mostly in the extra static around the rhythm guitar and drum cymbals. The overall album quality does give a dirty, raw feeling to the material naturally, which enhances it's eerie ambiance. As the listener embarks upon their seven track journey, they will find that the content becomes captivatingly creepy, yet beautiful, over time as obscure keyboard effects and pianos are added to the darkened maze of subtle tempo changes, echoed vocals and conflicting compositions.

There is a vast range of guitar techniques and composures incorporated throughout the lengthy album, all which seemingly clash in a beautiful way against other elements. A large portion of the material is made up of alluring picking arrangements, such was what is heard in "Suffocation" and "Inflorescence of Silence". The picking segments are neither warm or cold yet ghostly and distant, sometimes they're full of distortion and other times they are clean. Indeed there are also the must-have chugging doom riffs full of gritty distortion, however this approach is used sparingly as if the musicians are aware it's a much overdone element in doom metal today, along with galloping riffs, clean and dirty tremolos and pinch harmonics. The two aforementioned tracks are rather similar due to the nature of the guitar picking as well as the clean sung and spoken word vocals laid over top, but the only two on the album that come across that way.

Bardo. Relative Reality is alive with a conglomeration of composition and momentum shifts. While "Suffocation", "Inflorescence of Silence" and "River" are melancholic, haunting melodies of lightly seasoned picking with soft, clean sung or spoken vocals the content also has the up beat, gruff tough cuts such as "Faded Reality", "Cold Light" and "Theatre of Forms" which are packed with hardened double bass drumming filled with cymbal crashes and blast beats backing greasy, almost black metal style guitar riffs reveling in tremolos or power chord riffs; all the while with macabre growls leading the way. None of the tracks, however, stick with just one style or pace but rather evolve throughout the course of their longevity, though they will weigh heavy on one side of the scale or the other ultimately. The twelve-and-a-half minute epic "A Painting (Digging Into the Canvas with Oil)" is a prime example of the meshing of both melodic and doom ingredients that Odradek Room uses to entertain their audience, pulling out all the stops vocally and instrumentally.

An ultimate experience in the diversity of doom metal with intriguing melodic elements, Bardo. Relative Reality captures the long lost art of mystery that a lot of new doom fails to provide. The natural raw, gritty quality of the album gives additional atmosphere to the omnious synthesizers and strange picking while enhancing the greasy feel of power chords and tremolo riffs. Unfortunately the bass guitar and drums tend to fall under the radar on this release only due to the fact that the guitars are mixed exceptionally loud and overtake the aforesaid instruments; although when they're focused on they do an amazing job in following the fluid tempo and composition changes with equally captivating prowess. A definite recommend, Odradek Room are really on to something with this release.

Rating: 8.5/10

Reviewed by: Villi Thorne

Review from Pitchline Webzine

Tue, 18 Mar 2014 20:46:22 +0100

From: Pitchline Webzine

Published: March 17, 2014

Original Link

*Google translation of Spanish review

Right from the choice of name (based on the protagonist of a story by Franz Kafka), we can see that this is not a band that likes things conventional. Hailing from Ukraine, began his career in 2008 calling Shards of Silence and after these past five years, have finally released their debut album. The sound of the album is clearly oriented towards the fluctuating land where extreme metal meets the Post- Rock, land, indeed, increasingly more crowded (could be here all reflection about the meaning of the rise of certain trends and their relation to the concept of "fashion", but we'll leave for another time.) The proposed Odradek Room walks, therefore, between the second and melancholic fragility of the first dark forcefulness, predominantly lingering sadness over the fifty-eight minute compact.

A compositional level, the formula of the group is based on issues of simple structures where premium creating atmospheres of loneliness, isolation and pain from a romantic perspective markedly. This romanticism, in turn, is embodied through the hazy tinkling guitars and melodies that resonate vaporous as a viscous song in which to get caught at the mercy of a seductive and incurable suffering. There are many occasions in which this mental weakness is countered by the force and the own power of extreme metal, as in a passage of songs like "A painting (digging into the cavans with oil)", "Faded Reality" or "River", which emerge you distort guitars, the pace quickens considerably and the raspy voice of Artyom Krikhtenko appears to give more depth and contrast to the sensations and feelings that permeate the listening of this work. I have the impression, in this sense that the balance between the ethereal and introspective side and the more brutal side and torn has been somewhat unbalanced at the end. Moreover, this intense immersion Odradek Room I propose can be somewhat flat in its musical reflected. Let me explain: the especially important to the band, I lyrical section addresses the perplexity, confusion and own existential despair of human beings of a remote fashion simplistic language and images that come many artists.

I think musicar this vast field is a deeply interesting task and that is where I see that look Odradek Room narrows under siege by the aforementioned romance. A greater variety when music become so complex ideas and thoughts, and so dark, would have resulted in a richer and more substantial result (we did find substance in that topic "A painting ...", where the balance between aggressiveness and melody and nurtured existing range of textures and soundscapes manage to reach the desired level of depth).

With that said, I must clarify that these reflections do not seek to be punctilious with the sole purpose of finding potential defects in a record like this, but seeking to spin with greater finesse and potential demand greater reality of a work, on the other hand, offers many attractions to be heard and enjoyed. We're talking about a young band, not without talent and creativity, which focuses on a concept and a little commercial sounds with the intention of extracting the underlying surface as usual. If able to print with a darker and abstract to his music, far from a gloomy vision that has already been sufficiently explored in the past tone, I am convinced that their future work will gain a lot worse.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by: Jaime Fernandez

Review from Pure Nothing Worship Magazine; Issue 2

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 20:15:08 +0100

From: Pure Nothing Worship Magazine; Issue 2

Published: February 2014

Magazine Website

"Bardo. Relative Reality" is the debut album of the young Ukrainian quartet, delivering honest, well crafted atmospheric death doom. This album is an emotional journey through paths laden with dark, suffocating death doom, entwined with profoundly melancholic post-rock elements and crushing despairing riffs. Featuring really rich compositions and song structures, the mood is rooted in nostalgic,deeply melancholic setting, and conveyed through straight-forward death doom, ambiental passages with strong leanings of post rock and deeply emotional riffs.

An hour long introspective voyage, emotional and unique, heavy and dreamy, it can be safely said that this is a perfect, flawless debut album of this young band. Short review, since no excessive words should be wasted...this simply must be heard...get it!

Review from Metal Revolution Webzine

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 20:03:09 +0100

From: Metal Revolution Webzine

Published: October 18, 2013

Original Link

Odradek Room is an atmospheric and progressive death & doom act with post-rock leanings from Ukraine. They got their name after one of Franz Kafka’s short stories and apart from this odd moniker for a band; few other things surprised me about this band. Their debut album (initially recorded in early 2012) is odd, bizarre and with equally confusing title Bardo, Relative Reality. It contains only 7, but quite lengthy songs.

The album is a conceptual story based on ideas of the 'Tibetan Book Of Dead' and surreal images of the subliminal consciousness. It obviously has two sides, both the aggressive and melancholic one. Some of the lyrics are in their native language, others in English. Vocals are growling, riffing is slow and melodies are mostly soaring and emotional. It has this almost psychedelic touch to it, but I hardly got through the whole material, since I find it uninspiring, boring and repetitive. It has loads of atmosphere, but it simply lacks this nerve and more tempo variations, to make it interesting and something unique. Thus, every song on the album is complex and with confusing structure.

On the other side, I only have words of praise for the terrific production, allowing each aspect of their music to unfold. The same can be said about this simple yet beautiful artwork imagery.

If you are looking for an easy listen, I’d suggest going elsewhere since Bardo. Relative Reality is not the easiest one to embrace for an average metal fan. Meanwhile, if you’re an old-school fan of this kind of music and esp. bands like Anathema, My Dying Bride, Saturnus or even Paradise Lost, give them a fair chance.

Rating: 64/100

Reviewed by: Bato

Review from Forgotten Path Magazine; Issue 5

Fri, 18 Oct 2013 19:18:49 +0100

From: Forgotten Path Magazine; Issue 5

Published: November 2013

Original Link

There seems to be a friendly and indirect competition rising between Canadian “Hypnotic Dirge Records” and Russian “Solitude Productions”. Both labels are oriented towards very similar music, mostly to different kinds of Doom Metal and Atmospheric/Depressive Black Metal. But those, who have taken a closer look at the releases from the Canadian side, should have definitely noticed that their bands are more experimental, weird and a little bit psychedelic. In other words - not the typical examples of the mentioned genres. Let’s take this Ukrainian band Odradek Room as an example. Though this is definitely Melodic Death/Doom Metal, but it shares a wide range of features from other styles. It has some stronger guitar parts that are rather typical for Black Metal. But at the same time the melancholy is much slower than you can imagine in a similar genre. Probably the Russian lyrics are the reason why I’m reminded of Kypck very much. And in general the music on this debut album from this four piece outfit has many decisions that could be faced as progressive ones. Definitely not a typical release, but rather interesting, though it would require much of your attention and even accumulation for the proper evaluation of the CD. Those, who prefer harmony against chaos, should probably avoid “Bardo. Relative Reality”. Others, keen on sadness, must try it, but be prepared for some kind of melancholic madness. Not the easiest listening, but definitely worth the attention.

Rating: 7.5/10

Reviewed by: Odium

Review from Alarm 666 Webzine

Wed, 16 Oct 2013 22:35:49 +0100

From: Alarm 666 Webzine

Published: October 14, 2013

Original Link

*Google translation of Danish review

Odradek Room comes from Ukraine and have released their debut album "Bardo. Relative Reality "on Hypnotic Dirge Records. This cooperation surprise in any way, since the record company has a taste for bands that are over in the slightly darker atmospheric department and preferably not have too many limits in their musical universe.

Odradek Room swimmer primarily around the doom metal genre, but the lock is not completely fixed in the classical framework. The seven tracks on the album are all of relatively long duration (with 'River' as the shortest at just over five and a half minutes), and the cause seemed to be in order to make room for variation in songwriting. The listener kept mostly not stuck in the same piece for several minutes, as they sometimes do in doom metallen, but we are taken on a tour of a diverse universe, with several corners and recesses of the band's atmospheric mind.

The vocals are in the mother tongue (I assume is the language!) And guitarist / singer Artyom Krikhtenko uses both growl, clean singing and chattering vocals. This adds of course a little more to the varying expressions.

One of the band's strengths can be said to lie with guitarist the tag on the slow mournful and melodic inputs, which are a part of. They are incredibly good at creating a floating, dreamy scenario, and even the more heavy and hard-hitting pieces also fit well into Odradek Room, it's really in these atmospheric passages, the pulls the listener in the country. During the first through-listenings are unfortunately often to confuse some of the quieter pieces with each other, making each of the songs a little similar at first.

"Bardo. Relative Reality "is generally heard a good little doom disc. It might seem a bit massive to get through, and it requires a special mood, but it contains many fine pages. Not a masterpiece but still recommended for fans of the genre. Give them a listen.

Reviewed by: Skousen

Review from Miasma Magazine

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 17:53:17 +0100

From: Miasma Magazine

Published: August 7, 2013

Original Link

Bardo. Relative Reality is the first official release by Ukrainian band Odradek Room, and it is also Their first full-length album. The group performs this music is a combination of melodic death metal and doom metal, and this combination isalso spiced up with a progressive elements. The name Odradek room which the band uses comes from Franz Kafka's short story "Die Sorge des Hausvaters". We can gather from That the sources of inspiration are perhaps a bit more unusual in this case as it is usually with generic cases of metal records. Unfortunately this does not really mean, That the music would be somewhat special or would sound exceptional.

The vocals on this record are quite interesting, Because they work pretty well on some parts, but sadly, most of the times they just do not. To add more to the problem, they have been quite mixed up in the surface, so much That they bothered me. Even though I am not one hundred percent sure That this was not Because of the fact-that my fancy translator tool inside my head does not compute with Ukrainian language one bit, but anyway this time in all the growls and spoken parts just seemed to be too much in the way of the music. That issue with disregarding vocals, sounds wise this album sounds pretty good.

The compositions are not really that great, and even though there are nice melodies and riffs in the background, it just feels like that the band tries too much to ponce about. Anyway, the songs have too much content (read: length) as it is now. Fortunately there Also included are some good moments with the record, like the song Cold Light for example, Which sounds pretty desolate at the parts and makes you wish That the band would have drowned Themselves a bit more into the waters Those desperate for inspiration.

Rating: 5/10

Reviewed by: Alex Vaittinen

Review from Legacy Magazine; Issue #85

Wed, 03 Jul 2013 19:28:44 +0100

From: Legacy Magazine; Issue #85

Published: June 2013

Magazine Website

*Google translation of German review

The band from Ukraine founded in 2008 as shards of Silence and later renamed based on a short story by Franz Kafka Odradek Room. Beyond the four musicians inspired literary show. "Bardo. Relative Reality "is a concept work based on the ideas of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The word "Bardo." Means in an intermediate sphere, a space between the worlds. According spherical and ground covering to develop the seven songs on the debut. Some of the songs have already been released digitally under the old band name. For the official debut of Odradek Room they were again revised and new material. The shortest piece runs 6:27 minutes, the longest it takes to 12:29 minutes. Since the playground of the quartet is widely held, Odradek Room speak even of a Death Doom-localization with influences of post-rock. The early releases of Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost seem to know the participants. The gloomy atmospheres and moods as well as the not exactly tangible nuances comes to the development of "Bardo. Relative Reality "of great importance. Scratch Lige black metal parts, the debut of Ukrainians also on, and in general are the musicians contrasts and focus shifts important. The listener will be so entertained and focused. It would be interesting, however, to answer the question whether Odradek Room purely instrumental and without - would not achieve even greater effect - anyway sparsely placed vocals. In any case, both Death Doom-and post-rock listeners should consider, "Bardo. Relative Reality "give a chance.

Rating: 10/15

Reviewed by: AK