Published: December 11, 2017

Progressive Melodic Death/Doom quartet ODRADEK ROOM formed in the Ukraine in 2010, from the ashes of the band SHARDES OF SILENCE. The band takes their moniker from a short story by author Franz Kafka. They released their debut full-length in 2013, titled “Bardo. Relative Reality,” and return now in 2017 with eight new tracks under the album title “A Man of Silt.”

“Arising in the Void” is a short instrumental opener. I hear bells of sorts and a reed instrument that might be an oboe. “Selfness” opens with some trumpet notes and other brass instruments, seemingly announcing something. From there, the song really takes you on a journey. Never settling into one main riff, it gently sways back and forth, inviting you to break the veil and walk on the other side. There are moments where it lashes out…angry Death vocals and dark passages that are threatening and tense. The overall shape of the track is quite amorphous. “Texture of Reality” is an almost nine-minute track. It opens auspiciously, but with a melancholy note. If you are having an out of body experience, it could be the hypnotic drug that awoke from the subliminal part of your mind that you thought was hidden away. A rush of endorphins will lift you up while the weight of the sadness crushes your soul.

“Mirror Labyrinth” has a mournful and sorrow laden opening, painting the bright colors of the sky a dull grey. Everywhere you turn, the landscape is the same, and you are doomed to wander the barren earth for eternity. The rain at the end of the track segues into “Rain Trip.” The solitary trumpet notes sound like what you might hear at a funeral, in the cold of late fall, as a steady rain washes you away. Dejected saxophone notes and the delicate voice of a female singer underscore this depression. Key changes pull you in even further. “Silt Flower” has some legitimate hopeful qualities, even among the gloominess. The Death vocals go deep, while the instrumentation varies from poignant moments of anger to breathable passages of ambiance. “Divide” is a nine-minute opus; mostly instrumental. Shrouded in mystery and suspense, it hides cautiously in the shadows, with the sense that it could explode out at you, but remains tempered instead. The hypnotic dirge is actually quite striking.

“Conditional Eternity” closes the album, in a short four minutes. Harkening back to that opening sound, the piano keys ring out like bells while the reed instrument laments. Beauty is found in the void when there is nothing left but oblivion. This is surely one of the more unique albums I have heard this year. Throw everything that you think you know about music and the eclectic nature of Progressive music especially and let this soak in. This is an album that gets deeper with each listen, as waves of texture crash over you, each one different than the previous. It is also a very personal listening experience, crafting songs that rouse your intellect as much as they do your emotions.