Credit: IlLENIUM LLC
ODYSSEY
[By: ILLENIUM]
Genre: Melodic bass, Festival progressive house
Rating: 50
Cohesiveness: 49
Track quality: 61
Beginner-friendly? yes
Written 2026/03/14
ODYSSEY stands tall and proud, unaware that it attempts to soar in a sky where every bird is the same.
ILLENIUM has garnered a vast following and a big stake in the contemporary music mainstream. His catalogue as a producer is nothing short of impressive, having inducted millions into electronic music as one of the biggest artists of the melodic bass movement, a key figure in the commercialization of melodic dubstep and future bass with his warm, enveloping style. Much of ODYSSEY is in that same, tried and tested, style.
But after so many years and so many albums, it's a tall and unwieldy task to overcome stagnation when you stick so stubbornly to your success. To get straight to the point - that is exactly what's happened here with ODYSSEY. The melodic bass formula has worn off. It's seeping into mainstream radio and popular media and mall noise, but when it comes to active listening, it has worn off. The same feel-good vocals and feel-good supersaw drops just don't feel so good anymore. They just feel old. To make things worse, ODYSSEY almost feels like it tries to lean into that distinct sense of feeling old. Perhaps it's an attempt at producing nostalgia, but not only is ODYSSEY unsuccessful in that, it removes the focus from what is supposed to be a burdenless, cathartic genre. The spark is snuffed out before it can ignite passion, purely because the old days live now in darkness, and so must we.
I think that's the glaring problem with ODYSSEY - it's simply a run-of-the-mill ILLENIUM-melodic-dubstep project. With some subtle blending of pop-rock, and the occasional switchup, this album proves to be serviceable and inoffensive; nothing more, nothing less.
Strangely, there are still deviations. Aside from the bizarre feature list - Ellie Goulding, Kid Cudi, Zeds Dead, Bring Me The Horizon, the list goes on - the most prominent deviation on ODYSSEY is the influx of festival progressive house cuts, but these only serve to bloat its tracklist into dragging its feet. And drag its feet it does - the house cuts tend to be more repetitive than the dubstep cuts that ILLENIUM has traditionally produced in the past, and the various vocal features serve to be no use whatsoever in alleviating any of the album's burdens. They're there to fulfil the formula, not break out.
The other notable deviation is the big, juddering heavy section stuck haphazardly in the album's midsection. Between tracks like "Slave To The Rithm" and "War", this section feels uncharacteristically messy and chock-full of spontaneous ideas (whilst the rest of the tracklist is devoid of them), but, honestly, it's one of the best segments of the record purely for trying something different. Something with a little bit of a serrated metal edge, fused with heavy dubstep.
And of course the tracklist itself is far too long - there's absolutely nothing wrong with an hour-long album, but ODYSSEY, by way of being repetitive, doesn't really bother to justify its length. There are still some decent cuts, though, and most can revel in the fact that they aren't particularly offensive to the ear enough to be bad. Standouts are few and far between, but ILLENIUM's solid atmospheres are often just enough to keep ODYSSEY's head above the water. Sometimes it dips down under, sometimes it stays submerged for worryingly long, sometimes it's at a serious risk of giving up and dying, but for the most part it's able to stay in 'alright' territory.
ODYSSEY is not the journey the title promises. It's not a journey at all, really. And it's not proved anything about anything, either. It has very little to say, and very little to do. But it does a couple of things, here and there, and at the end of the day it's another ILLENIUM album added to his catalogue. But from the man who's done so much for melodic dubstep (and a man who's one of the biggest producers in the modern era) it feels overcommercialized and a little generic.
Listen on Spotify here.
Odyssey [Structural] | (/100)
A bit of a cliché intro from the vocal sample alone, but the mix is actually pretty nice and airy. It's got a solid atmosphere, though the 36 second runtime means that it never actually gets to go anywhere.
Into The Dark [Melodic] | (/100)
w/ Mako
Mako's vocal starts out alright and gets better as the buildup creeps in, with ILLENIUM's accompanying production feeling nice and cinematic. The melodic dubstep drop has impact, too - even though it's a little same-samey, the synths feel full and punchy. The second drop is the exact same, but whatever.
Forever [Melodic] | (/100)
w/ Tom Grennan, Alna
Everything about this track points towards being forgettable - the rhythms aren't anything new necessarily, the future bass isn't either, and the lyricism is a thousand times recycled - but somehow "Forever" leaves a lasting mark, mainly because of the drop sequence. The drop cuts off way too quickly though, perhaps as a product of the shorter runtime.
With Your Love [Upbeat] | (/100)
w/ Ryan Tedder
The songwriting here is painfully generic. It's the kind of EDM you hear on popular radio all the time, with an uncannily familiar vocal style and larger-than-life house drops that would be euphoric if they hadn't been rinsed a million times over the past decade.
Feels Like You [Upbeat] | (/100)
w/ Elley Duhé
Elley Duhé's vocal is fairly strong and the house drops are full, but they refuse to change whatsoever. As a result, "Feels Like You" carries a well-produced self-worth but seems to make a point of dragging on.
In My Arms [Melodic] | (/100)
w/ HAYLA
HAYLA's vocal and ILLENIUM's production are both just about enough to keep "In My Arms" above the surface - the former goes for power intertwined through the drops, and the latter's rolling aspect and intriguing sound design additions save face from homogeneity, though the mix feels busy at times.
Don't Want Your Love [Standout] | (/100)
w/ Ellie Goulding
Ellie Goulding's vocal here might be one of the most engaged performances on this album. ILLENIUM attempts to do her justice, and the minimal but tensely strung synth lead kicks the drop into something interesting, but something repetitive after a time.
Slave To The Rithm [Heavy] | (/100)
w/ Bring Me The Horizon
Never in a million years would I have ever seen "Slave To The Rithm" coming. A weirdly quiet mastering precedes a stomping techno intro, and Bring Me The Horizon's metal vocal seems to work well until the first drop, where all hell breaks loose and the melding of heavy metal and electronic becomes a mess. I appreciate it for trying something vastly different, though.
War [Switchup] | (/100)
w/ Lø Spirit
ILLENIUM continues the heavier ideas of the record with another metal-leaning collaborator in Lø Spirit. The drops aren't as messy as "Slave To The Rithm" and pack a much bigger punch, and the song gets extra points for standing out of the tracklist, but the oscillating main lead feels weirdly empty at times and the heaviness can feel overdone.
I'll Come Runnin [Standout] | (/100)
w/ Zeds Dead, Mako
Again, just like "Into The Dark", Mako's opening performance is solid, but the real seller is Zeds Dead's added touch in the production. The first drop lands unexpectedly powerfully, with that metallic bass backing that feels heavy but highly restrained, along with a spacey final movement that builds nicely upon it.
Take Me Back [Melodic] | (/100)
w/ Dean Lewis
There's a big snare somewhere in the back, but it quickly fades out for some simple piano and a simple vocal and a simple drop. "Take Me Back" doesn't really offer up anything new when it comes to commercial melodic dubstep in any department.
Love Is A Chemical [Upbeat] | (/100)
w/ Lauren Alaina
This is perhaps the worst offender in terms of forgettable commercial songwriting. It feels designed to fade away in the back of a mall, with its simplistic hook and faux-expansive progressive house movements.
Feel Alive [Standout] | (/100)
w/ Bastille, Dabin
Dabin adds that extra impact needed for these melodic dubstep drops to really land, alongside his quick-witted airy sound design. "Feel Alive" has those minimal, cinematic offdrops and enough flavour to, at the very least, make it a highlight on this record.
Monster [Atmospheric] | (/100)
w/ EMMY
EMMY's lyricism probably contains some of the more nuanced (though the bar isn't high) lines on this album, over a simple orchestral pop ballad with some cinematic padding. It's not stale, thankfully, though it does weirdly drag on despite being under three minutes.
Refuge [Upbeat] | (/100)
w/ Norma Jean Martine
At this point in the album, I'm running out of things to say. "Refuge" sounds all too similar to the previous festival house cuts this tracklist has offered up, in all aspects - songwriting, vocal performance, sound design, and rhythm and flow.
Not Ordinary [Switchup] | (/100)
w/ Kid Cudi
I do like the switch to drum n bass, but it doesn't leave any lasting impression - it's very easy to forget that this is, in fact, a switchup. Kid Cudi's vocal is clearly well-done and catchy, but "Not Ordinary" mainly fails in the songwriting realm, being so short and pretty forgettable.
Paris [Standout] | (/100)
ILLENIUM's only fully-fledged collaborator-less track on this album sounds suspiciously Porter-Robinson-esque. Putting that aside, though, Paris is likely one of the most engaging cuts here, with stuttery drops and punchy melodic dubstep hits.
To The Moon [Switchup] | (/100)
w/ Alok
Yes, it's festival house again. This time, Alok brings a deeper, colder, more progressive sound, which definitely plays to the track's strengths, particularly with the longer runtime. The vocal certainly detracts from it, however.
Ur Alive [Melodic] | (/100)
w/ WYLDE
A simple, feel-good house closer. Just like all the other house on this record, it's very simple and doesn't do anything crazy, or, rather, anything at all. An inoffensive closer, though the vocal is better than most others here.
- Feel Alive w/ Bastille, Dabin (/100)
- Paris (/100)
- Into The Dark w/ Mako (/100)
- I'll Come Runnin w/ Zeds Dead, Mako (/100)
- War w/ Lø Spirit (/100)
- Forever w/ Tom Grennan, Alna (/100)
- Don't Want Your Love w/ Ellie Goulding (/100)
- Monster w/ EMMY (/100)
- Slave To The Rithm w/ Bring Me The Horizon (/100)
- Odyssey (/100)
- In My Arms w/ HAYLA (/100)
- Not Ordinary w/ Kid Cudi (/100)
- Ur Alive w/ WYLDE (/100)
- To The Moon w/ Alok (/100)
- Feels Like You w/ Elley Duhé (/100)
- Take Me Back w/ Dean Lewis (/100)
- Refuge w/ Norma Jean Martine (/100)
- With Your Love w/ Ryan Tedder (/100)
- Love Is A Chemical w/ Lauren Alaina (/100)