Interviews: Flight Of Odin
1. For readers discovering Flight of Odin for the first time, how would you describe the band's sound and identity?
Flight of Odin’s sound evolved from a retro 1970s melodic hard rock style into a Psychedelic Doom Metal genre, primarily based on the influence of Doom fan and drummer Kenny Finger, and the discovery of our present guitarist, Tyler Beddow. Tyler’s amazing musical intuition and technical skills help define the signature sound core members Xyra, Andrew Cann, and Kenny Finger envisioned and hoped for from the band’s inception.
In 2015, Xyra, singer/songwriter and Project Manager, assembled and named the first iteration of the band, Flight of Odin. The band went through several metamorphoses before landing with the current 2026 lineup.
Overall, Flight of Odin’s current lineup is a convergence of collaborative individuals who respect one another's ideas and get along well together… a rare combination.
2. What inspired the creation of “Andromeda” and what story or emotions does the instrumental piece convey?
During a 2025 rehearsal, Tyler began playing a riff that is now prominent on the album track. With Andrew on synth that night, and Kenny on drums, the jam took its first breath of life. On hearing this during rehearsal, Xyra found the piece spacey and thought of calling it Andromeda Strain, after the novel. The title later became simply Andromeda.
The piece is emotionally riveting, even to the band, as the video Xyra created for it conveys. The inspiration for the Andromeda video was based in part on the psychedelic sequence in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
3. Without lyrics, how do you approach telling a story through music alone?
There are two instrumentals on the album whereby the instrumentalists in the band took flight… Andromeda by Tyler Beddow, and Obsidian Cove by Andrew Cann.
While putting the album liner notes together, Xyra asked Andrew and Tyler to each write a description to go in the CD booklet in place of what would usually be song lyrics. What they wrote inspired Xyra to create videos for each piece that can be found on the Flight of Odin YouTube channel.
Tyler’s description of Andromeda:
Imagine dropping into the unknown nebula of Andromeda. Hours of shiny blackness mixed with distant emissions of light beaming pale blue and green. Cosmic materials fizzing by. The stars are your compass. Embedded in the sea of glow are flickering monolithic spheres. Blazing yellow orbs synchronized and revolving.
Andrew’s description of Obsidian Cove:
Envision a remote, desolate, Icelandic coastline on the North Atlantic Ocean where you find yourself above a surreally dreamlike landscape. As you approach, you discover a stark, jagged cliff line that drops sharply onto a black sand beach. As you set foot on the sand, you notice a small inlet that compels you to enter. In the distance, tall waves rush in, capped in silver, sprawling over the black obsidian stones gleaming in the moonlight. You watch and listen to the waves retreating into the ocean’s depths before the next round comes crashing in. Heavy grey clouds brood ominously overhead. Stretching into the distance, at some unforeseen point, you see the vast ocean meet the darkened sky, as if two universes collide and then retreat into repose and resolve.
4. I Traveled the Crooked Path is an ambitious double album. What inspired you to create such an expansive release?
Flight of Odin had several unreleased songs in the vault, so it made sense to develop them with the new lineup and add them to the album, along with remastered/remixed songs from previously released EPs, Goddess in Smoke and Tattered Cloaks of Madness.
The final album, I Traveled the Crooked Path, includes revisited acoustic songs by Xyra that the band revived and transformed, namely the title track, You Can’t Stop Me Now, 20-Years War, and Never Turned Away, found on Disc 1.
Before Xyra added lyrics and vocal melody lines to Séance of Hecate, it began as a short instrumental Kenny created with an earlier group called Solstitia… a contemporary Baroque ensemble that included violinist Chelle Fulk, who appears on Disc 2 of the current album.
5. The album explores mythology, introspection, and transformation. How did those themes shape the songwriting?
The images in the lyrics invoked the themes. When Xyra writes lyrics, they come to her as a stream of consciousness, tapping into the collective unconscious, one might say. As this process proceeds, more images come to mind, and ideas get tossed around and refined.
6. Flight of Odin blends doom metal, progressive rock, classical music, and psychedelic influences. How did that unique musical identity develop?
Each band member has their own musical history, from classical training to attending concerts by artists one admires, to grasping at shadows trying to define one’s own, elusive genre… seeking a niche… a place in a musical community to call home. Eventually, one faces a mirrorless realization. And when that happens, if fate has it, one will attract like-minded people. That’s what has happened with Flight of Odin.
7. Tyler Beddow's guitar work takes center stage on “Andromeda.” What did he bring to the band that helped shape this new chapter?
Tyler’s amazing musical intuition and technical skills help define Flight of Odin’s signature sound.
8. Xyra's vocals are a defining part of Flight of Odin's sound. How important is storytelling to the band's overall creative vision?
Storytelling is an underlying foundation for Flight of Odin’s sound, which came about naturally. Flight of Odin’s storytelling is not contrived, nor does it incorporate AI tools to create lyrics or music. Again, tapping into the collective unconscious, one might say… or even past lifetimes, one might conjecture to guess.
9. The band draws inspiration from artists as diverse as Black Sabbath, King Crimson, Tool, Chopin, and Dead Can Dance. Which influences had the greatest impact on this album?
The band doesn’t often think about it in those terms but leaves it to the listeners to draw from the music what they will. The songs grow from a non-conspicuous place before taking shape during final rehearsals and mixing in the recording studio. Sometimes, on listening back, we might remark on similarities to other artists, but whatever influences inspired us are not thought out or consciously incorporated.
10. Can you walk us through the songwriting and recording process for I Traveled the Crooked Path?
WOW. Working with professional engineers in a professional studio is an experience not easily defined. The most important thing is to show up fully prepared.
Flight of Odin uses BIAS Recording Studios in Springfield, Virginia, a studio that offers a backline of drums, amps, mics, and various musical instruments of choice. Our local recording and mixing engineer is Brian Jacobs Rivera, and our mastering engineer is Mike Monseur out of Nashville, Tennessee.
We record live, with everyone assembled at the same time. Xyra does her “scratch vocals” the first day and her final vocals, if necessary, during final mixing. Typically, the band gets everything right on the first or second take. We recorded three of the songs and the two instrumentals on Disc 1 in one day. Disc 2 on the album was mixed and mastered at BIAS in 2024 about the same way.
The drum setup is the most complicated and time-consuming part of the first day. Our drummer, Kenny, selects the kit he wants from BIAS’s collection, and provides his own cymbals, sticks, and gadgets. Engineer Brian and an assistant set up the drums to Kenny’s specifications in advance of the band’s arrival. Kenny tunes the drums before placing the drum mics strategically.
Tyler typically brings a 6-string Les Paul, 7-string ESP baritone guitar, and various pedals, requesting a Mesa cabinet with a Marshall head, which is mic’d to the recording console. He is in a separate room by himself.
Andrew usually brings a 5-string Dingwall multi-scale bass, a Schecter or ESP for backup, and a Roland 88-key electric piano/keyboard. He plugs directly into the recording console, in a huge room we call the rumble room, shared with drummer Kenny.
Xyra sits in an isolated vocal booth for her vocals, using an AKG 1440 vocal mic.
There are video monitors angled so band members can see each other.
After everything is in place, Brian does a sound check for each instrument track, as we adjust the mix in each of our headphones. We then run through the first song live to make sure everyone is happy with the levels, and Brian can create a preliminary mix. After we deem the mix final, Brian sends the files to Mike Monseur for mastering.
11. What was it like working with Brian Jacobs Rivera at BIAS Recording Studios and Mike Monseur on mastering?
Working with Brian in person, and Mike remotely from Nashville, has been an exceptional experience. While being laid-back and easy to work with, both are consummate professionals and experts in their craft. Most importantly, they respect the artists’ ideas. This is especially important as we are self-produced… we stopped using producers after a few bad experiences in other studios that shall not be named.
BIAS is a very welcoming studio that has been around for 50+ years. They use top-of-the-line equipment and have won many awards… including Grammys, so you feel comfort in that. You do feel like you’ve time-travelled when you enter, as the place has retained its earth-tone interior design from the 1970s… lots of natural wood paneling, hand-laid stone interior walls, and plush shag carpet insulation.
12. Disc Two includes remastered material from Goddess in Smoke. Why was it important to revisit those songs for this release?
Goddess in Smoke was originally released in digital format only. So, we felt the 2024 lineup that included guitarist Andy Paul, guitarist Dan Kolcun, and violinist Chelle Fulk deserved an appearance on the new album. We believed the songs and performances were strong enough to present to a wider audience who might prefer a tactile medium such as CDs.
13. The visual presentation of Flight of Odin is just as immersive as the music. What's the story behind the artwork and imagery surrounding the album?
With I Traveled the Crooked Path, as with our first album The Only Door, Flight of Odin wanted to create both a sonic and illustrative journey.
An art director of sorts, Xyra engaged professional photographer Kathy Russell to create the image of band members in the forest for the inside back cover, which is actually a photo montage. Whereas the painting that depicts the song, The Ravens’ Eyes, was created to spec by fine artist Jordan Montgomery Conway.
In developing the visual content for the album, Xyra decided to create further artwork and videos for the band, including the video for Andromeda.
The creative process and idea mechanism for the imagery is mostly stream of consciousness. The words may come first, and the music and artwork follow.
14. What has the response been like from fans since the release of I Traveled the Crooked Path and the “Andromeda” video?
Thanks to Zach and Raven of Metal Devastation PR, fine people such as those from Breathing The Core Zine have contacted us.
Our once neglected Spotify site and Flight of Odin’s YouTube channel are slowly picking up steam. We’ve had airplay from FM and online stations domestically and abroad, which certainly helps to get the music in front of wider audiences.
15. What can audiences expect from a Flight of Odin live performance?
Interesting question. We are not a gigging or touring band, per se. However, we have many ideas for live performance… including expansive visual image effects.
Our highest ambitions are to create a Doom Metal Opera, and most absurdly… someday play The Royal Albert Hall.
That said, in the future, we plan to create current live performance videos.
16. What are the band's goals moving forward, and what can fans look forward to next?
Our goal is to keep things going… to continue creating, sharing, and growing our art.
17. Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers of Breathing The Core Zine?
Flight of Odin is most grateful for the appreciation we are receiving and feel humbled by it.
Thank you for interviewing us! We look forward to following Breathing The Core Zine!
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