Odium began as a studio project with our drummer, Joe Mullen, and I recording demos in his parents' basement. Joe played all the instruments and I was on vocals. We wanted to play our music live so we started recruiting members in 2006. We've had a lot of different members so I'll just tell you where our current guys came from. Andrew Fullerton joined us in 2007 while we were writing "At the Bottom" and has played a crucial role in the writing process ever since. He was in Archaea which was a band Joe and I really looked up to. They were a couple years older and Odium used to open for them in the early days. They also did their demo with Greg Dawson of BWC Studios which is how we hooked up with Greg who has produced our last two albums. Our new bassist Jake Fortney was also in Archaea. He joined us this past summer after the departure of our last bassist, Dale Burrows, who remains a good friend and left on good terms. Bo Louther was one of the original members of Odium. He played bass for us when we were out supporting our first EP, "Glass Barricade" and left to go to school. When the position of lead guitar opened up we called him up to tour for "At the Bottom". He's been with us since the summer of 2009 and was a huge part of the writing process for our new album, "Burning the Bridges to Nowhere".

I would describe us as a heavy, high energy melodic metal band with dark, moody soundscapes and soaring, anthemic choruses. Our influences range from Nothingface, Tool, NIN, Born of Osiris, Slipknot and Soilwork to Katatonia and Veil of Maya. We all listen to very different music but these are a few I think most of us could agree on.

We are a dedicated, hard working independent band who are very adamant about retaining complete artist control over our music. The music we make is the music we want to be making and we truly believe in what we're doing. If you are a fan of melodic metal with dark, heavy parts and catchy choruses, check us out. The great thing about it is with things like youtube out there, it's very easy to check it out without having to buy it until you know you like it. So that's what I would encourage people to do. No music is ever for everyone but you'll never know unless you check us out.

Our first release was the "Glass Barricade" EP. It was released independently in 2006 and was not very publicized. The small amount of reviews we did get were moderately favorable but it was more a learning experience and the first step towards what was to come next. "At the Bottom" was our debut album which was released in 2009 on Year of the Sun Records to mixed reviews. It had two singles and it was the first release we toured on. Some critics really liked it but others thought it had too much of a Swedish, Soilwork clone type vibe. Earlier this year we released "Burning the Bridges to Nowhere" which was very well received by critics and fans alike. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and we are very pleased with how this album turned out.

We really do enjoy writing and working in the studio but Odium has come a long way from it's roots as a studio band. Our live performance is constantly improving and has become something people walk away talking about. We have been playing as much as possible since our new album's release this past April and have plans to tour this November as well as a larger tour in the spring. Between tours we're always doing the "weekend warriors" thing around Ontario and Quebec as well.

Odium is a band that appeals to a large audience. We have a diverse sound with something for most metal fans out there. Our persistence and belief in what we do has paid off so far and we plan to continue with the same work ethic that got us here. We want to see how far we can take this and we'll do what it takes to make that happen.

We are currently locking things up with a booking agency so there will be more tours like the ones in November and the one in early spring I mentioned earlier. There is a cover song in the works as well. We will be doing the Deftones song Passenger which should be released by late October/early November as well as having a new online merch store with Kill the 8 around the same time.

There are three music videos as well as every song from both albums posted on youtube. Our CD's and shirts will be available on the Kill the 8 online store in the next month or so. Both albums can be ordered on the Year of the Sun website and of course everything can be downloaded from iTunes or band camp. My favorite place to sell merch is at shows though. Everything is available at our merch booth and we love getting to meet everyone.

October 2012