In the wake of releasing their newest album Vesica Piscis last week, Portland-based prog metal band The Odious have been hard at work making sure the new songs make their rounds. And to show you they mean business, guitarist/vocalist Spencer Linn is here with a brand-new, exclusive guitar playthrough for the song “Arbiter of Taste”, only right here, on Gear Gods!
As a massive fan of bands like Between the Buried and Me, Native Construct, and Others by No One, The Odious have been on my radar since the release of their previous album Joint Ventures back in 2012. While I’ve loved everything from these dudes in the past, the new album brings a whole new level of refreshing sounds to the table, and Spencer’s playthrough showcases that beautifully.
With sections of the track ranging from tech-death to black metal to prog rock and everything in between, there’s a lot going on, but the band manages to make it all digestible. Spencer’s playing is on-point, even on the wackiest of riffs that this song has to offer, and at nearly 7 minutes, the song is fairly beefy but doesn’t drag for one second. And with a hooky chorus that makes an appearance throughout, “Arbiter of Taste” pretty much has everything you could ask for.
“We consider Vesica Piscis to be the final installment in a trilogy of related themes throughout the course of our discography. The subject matter of our trilogy tries to mirror the contradictions and dissonance that is prevalent in our existence. These ideas have mostly been organized as anthologies, with the varying concepts in each song covering things like cruelty, lust for violence, birth, decay, attraction, betrayal, etc. The Vesica Piscis itself is a historically ubiquitous symbol, appearing in ancient and contemporary contexts alike. Over the millennia, it has been utilized by many cultures/religions, putting its true significance into question. The universal yet ambiguous nature of this symbol resonated with us because it seems to perfectly embody the inconsistency that we reference in our trilogy.”
As for gear, here are Spencer’s go-tos:
- Ibanez RGD2127z
- Mesa/Boogie Rectifier 4×12″ 240-watt Cab
- Krank Krankenstein 100w Amp Head
- Boss GT-10 Guitar Effects Processor
- Dunlop Stiffo Jazz III Guitar Picks
You can listen to Vesica Piscis here, and be sure to check the dudes out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
