Odeum are one of Sweden's many new bands that emerge seemingly every day to continue this Swedish metal invasion that has, fortunately for the listeners, been going on for the past few years. After releasing their _Factor of Tantrum_ demo [CoC #30], Odium have changed their name to Odeum, released two more tracks under the title _The Pleiadean Diaries_ [reviewed in this issue] and prepare more songs for a very likely full-length release apparently bound to happen in the future. Read about them now; you may well hear about them in the future, if the band keeps progressing like they have been so far.

CoC: Since you're still a young and unknown band, how would you describe your style to our readers?

Chrille Ludvigsson: Well, I know it is a cliche, but the Gothenburg scene has inspired us quite a bit; I guess I don't have to mention any bands... We have actually just recorded two new songs and they are a little more eclectic in the sense that both myself and our new guitarist have contributed to the songwriting. Our lead guitarist Henrik wrote all the earlier material.

CoC: Sweden has produced many talented death metal bands in the past few years. How do you fit in such a competitive environment? Does that worry you?

CL: Absolutely not! I mean, we are not playing music in order to compete against other bands. In fact, bands here in Sweden tend to be very supportive to each other and we have made good friends in some bands. As you said, the environment is competitive, but the bands themselves neither think nor worry about it. Not in my opinion, anyway.

CoC: Which bands would you name as being most influential to your music, and which ones are your favorites?

CL: Well... In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates have been great influences, but personally I am a bit tired of the overly "happy" melodies that a few of these bands use; the riffs I write tend to be a bit more melancholic and grim. I listen a lot to Dimmu Borgir, Diabolical Masquerade, Opeth, Borknagar, Embraced and other bands in that style. So I guess our music is a blend of these different styles. Our new guitarist writes a lot of classic heavy/power metal riffs, so that's another aspect that will be incorporated into the music in the future. Keyboards are another thing that we have begun to experiment with in the studio to a greater extent than before; I am actually going down to the studio right now and will work with some piano lines for the newest songs.

CoC: Are there any lesser known Swedish bands you would recommend as having a lot of potential (besides Odeum, of course)?

CL: Lesser known, ey? Hmm, we are good friends with a great heavy/death band called Mortum; their debut was released on Invasion Records a few months ago and it kicks ass! Dead Silent Slumber is also very good; it is some kind of one-man project and the music is incredible! Blazing Skies are also worth mentioning.

CoC: You have changed your band name from Odium to Odeum recently; why? Was that because of Nocturnal Art Productions' band Odium?

CL: Partly; we discovered, after we had taken the name, that there were about three or four different bands and zines called Odium, so a change was just a matter of time. Odeum is a better name anyway, and we are quite happy with it.

CoC: What else has gone on in the band since the _Factor of Tantrum_ demo?

CL: We have been looking for a second guitarist and, as I mentioned before, he has been found in the form of Bjorn Lundberg, who is an old friend of ours. We shared a rehearsal room with his old band and when they split up he joined us. Other than that, we have just been rehearsing, writing new songs and developing our sound.

CoC: What's the next step after these two new songs, released under the title _The Pleiadean Diaries_? Do you have a label contract in sight yet?

CL: As I said earlier, we have just recorded two new songs and we will send them and _The Pleiadean Diaries_ to suitable labels. There have been interested parties but none who could give us any financial support whatsoever, and we basically don't feel like paying the studio cost for an album ourselves.

CoC: What do you aim to achieve with your band in the future? What are your main objectives?

CL: A contract is of course our main objective at this point; we have the material to make a killer album. There is nothing signed yet, though. We're waiting for a reasonably established label, rather than signing for the first cellar-based label that comes our way. Our music deserves it! Otherwise we wouldn't be interviewed in the biggest on-line metal mag now, would we? <laughs>

CoC: Any concluding remarks?

CL: Thanks a lot for the interview and be sure to hammer out more of those great chronicles, man!! Visit our website, people! High quality MPEG3 files are available!

Contact: mailto:odium666@hotmail.com WWW: http://home8.swipnet.se/~w-81012