Driven By Fate CD Fan Review #1:
I've heard a lot about these guys, so I decided to order this CD from The Odin's Court Website
Not only did I get the CD and shirt I ordered within a week, I got a hand written letter from Matt himself,
which I thought to be a really nice touch. The CD is a very affordable $9.99 + shipping and handling, by the
way.
I hate to pidgeon-hole bands by comparing them to other bands, but it's the easiest way to illustrate Odin's
Court. They give me a feel of When Dream and Day Unite era Dream Theater cross bread with old school Iron
Maiden, with a touch of new age sprinkled in. I would call it Heavy Metal with a prog rock feel. They are a
very riff driven band who make many changes within a song without it being jumbled. The musicianship is good,
but not spectacular. There are no virtuosos in this band, but neither are there any slouches. This band is
about songs, and the songwiting/compositional skills are what make this CD work.
The songs themselves range from very heavy riff crunchers (D2C, Shadow Dust) to mellow ambient instrumental
pieces (The Garden, Discretion Rising, Hell's Council) to straight ahead rockers (Holdin' The Line). One thing
I should mention about this CD is that it is NOT a commercial effort. Every song except the bonus tracks is
actually a movement in a larger piece of a suite. The lyrical subject matter for the most part is dark and
introspective. Not very catchy at first, but catchiness does not appear to be their intent. These songs are
meant to be vehicles of illustration, not just songs in and of themselves.
The performances are all very good. The guitar solos rip without being wanky, the drumming fits the songs
while never overpowering them, and the bass lines all fit. There are several occasions where a song will
end with an extra minute of ambient noises and keyboard washes that give the listener a break from the dark
feel of these songs. Over all, Driven By Fate is a very tastefully balanced effort. Some performance high
points are the band member spotlights in "His Dark Materials", the solo section of Shadow Dust, the bass
line of "The Fall", and the wicked riff that occurs at 3:50 in "Burden of Heaven".
The one gripe I have with Driven By Fate is the vocals. Matt has vocal talent, but needs to work on his
voice a bit. The range, power, and emotion are all there. He just needs to aquire more control and depth
to his voice. The production on the vocals is lacking as well. Since this is a self produced CD, it is
forgivable. To sum up the vocals, I'd say they should have worked on them longer.
The songs:
Driven By Fate
1. Discretion Rising - Dark and erie intro. Great album opener
2. D2C - This song is what Odin't Court is all about. Smacks you over the head and says "here we are!!"
3. Shadow Dust - Great riffing here. The guitar solo is killer. The high vocal screams are hurt by the
production (or lack thereof)
4. Surreal Contemplations - Interesting instrumental. Very dark and brooding.
5. Utopian Rust - One of my favorite songs on this disc. Great guitar riffs and an odd time meter with
some whacky-cool lyrics make for an album highlight to end the first suite.
H3:
6. His Dark Materials - Another strong song driven by great riffs. Each band member takes a short solo break
and kudos to them for keeping it tasteful.
7. Holdin' The Line - After all the dark and brooding pieces, this straight up rocker provides an excelent
contrast. Reminds me of Paul DiAnno era Iron Maiden. This is the only song on the entire CD with whimsical
lyrics , and it works marvelously to break up the album.
8. Homecoming - Short but brutal song.
Paradise Lost:
9. Chapter 1 (The Fall) - What a great intro!!! The bass line moves this song along nicely.
10. Chapter 2 (Hell's Council) - They picked the perfect title for this instrumental. It goes from diabolical
to ephemeral at the end.
11. Chapter 3 (Burden of Heaven) - All I can say is that middle riff is killer. Absolute metal all the way.
12. Chapter 4 (The Garden) - Melodic but rocking instrumental to close out the last suite.
Bonus tracks:
13. Paradise Lost: Chapter 1 instrumental - This song actually works very well as an instrumental. It's
essentially "The Fall" with no vocals and the last minute of the outro removed
14. Esoterica - I hate to say this, but this is not a very remarkable song to me. Hey, 1 dud out of 14 isn't
bad and besides, it's a bonus track.
For what is is, I give this CD an over all 8/10. It's a very solid debut effort with some excellent high
points.
- Marcus, New Jersey