Odium Totus comes to us from Salt Lake City. It was formed in 2011 by Eric Elde, a metal scene veteran who has been involved in bands such as Gravehill, Ibex Throne, Iconoclast Contra, and Lord Beherit. They released their full-length debut, Nullam Congue Nihil, in 2012, but it wasn’t until their 2018 release, In Inceptum Finis Est, that they caught my attention. The cover art was what drew me in. It’s a black and white picture of a statue of Julius Caesar. This made me think of the similarities between the American Republic and the Roman Republic. They both had a pioneering spirit in their early years and expanded quickly. They had the uncanny ability to assimilate peoples and cultures into a unified whole. Now America has entered the Late Republic stage where the government has become irredeemably corrupt and society has become unstable. It is during times like these when great men arise to set things right. Julius Caesar was that man for Rome. Modern bugmen will try to paint him as a tyrant who overthrew a good and wholesome democracy, but the truth is that the Roman Republic had been functionally dead for an entire generation by the time he rose to power. He did not kill a healthy republic, he buried a rotting corpse. The same will happen to America.
Like so many American black metal bands, Odium Totus takes many different influences and combines them into a sound that is all their own. The production is more on the clean side, but it still has enough reverb to create a cold and unwelcoming atmosphere. The drumming is diverse and performed very well. Sometimes they play slow and trudging doom beats, then they’ll pick up the pace and throw in some rumbling double bass. Many of the blast beats are stripped-down and minimalist, but there are moments when they become more chaotic, such as on “Pt. VI - Dystopia Paradigm”. They also add various relishes in the form of strong fills and militaristic rhythms.
The bass is quite high in the mix, and although it spends most of its time following the guitars, it gives the music a richer and deeper quality. The vocals consist of croaks and rasps that draw heavy inspiration from early-’90s black metal. They have a delightfully sickening sound and exude a visceral disdain for the foolish ideals of modern man. The guitars have that classic chilling sound that perfectly expresses the contempt the frontman has for the unthinking masses. Their performance ranges from unsettling doom riffs to mighty chord progressions to eviscerating tremolo riffs. Subtle melodies are woven into all the riffs that make them more compelling. Unlike most other black metal bands, Odium Totus also includes solos. They’re mostly high-pitched and have a somber quality, though some sound a bit more bluesy. My favorite is the one near the end of the final track.
The lyrics show that Eric Elde is unapologetically elitist, something I wholeheartedly support. This is made abundantly clear on the very first song, which expresses his hatred for the vapid opinions of the mindless rabble. The second track declares that man must cast away feeble emotions such as pity and harden themselves through constant struggle. The fourth track drinks wine to the demise of the society that glorifies the weak and inferior. The last three tracks speak of the creation of a new order, one that embraces man’s brutal nature, one that glorifies strength and savagery, one that rejects utopian fantasies and embraces cold reality.
In Inceptum Finis Est was an incredible album. It’s finely crafted, splendidly played, and possesses an elite spirit, one that reminds us of a more glorious past and inspires us to strive for a glorious future. It is the perfect soundtrack for the rise of an American Caesar. And make no mistake: America will have a Caesar. He is inevitable at this point.