Oddzar

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Oddzar is an American rock band formed in 1999 in Columbia, Maryland. The original members were Russ Eckell (vocals), David Nenner (guitar), Travis Lockhart (bass), and Blake Silvea (drums). They were inspired by funk-metal bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine, as well as Pearl Jam. After Nenner left to form Truth Be Told, Greg Jung joined in 2000 and the band began shifting toward influences from Tool and Muse, aiming to dodge trends like pop-punk, emo, and rap-metal.

In 2002, Oddzar signed with DCide Records. They worked on their self-titled debut, produced by Drew Mazurek, and released it in 2004. Jung left that May and was replaced by Greg Loman. Tracks from the album, “Abandoned Road” and “Spell,” were featured on MTV’s Road Rules in 2005.

Travis Lockhart left in 2005, and Ellis Tinsley filled in as bassist before Trevor Olexy joined as the new member. On November 19, 2007, the band released a demo from their then-undisclosed second album called “Ready the Chariot,” signaling a more progressive direction. In 2008, “Until It Does” from the first album was used in The Real World: Hollywood, Episode 8, “Arrival and Departure.”

Oddzar recorded their second album, tentatively titled Rise, in late April 2008 at Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts, with Evan Anderson producing and Benny Grotto engineering and mixing. It was mastered in September 2008 at Peerless Mastering in Boston and was planned for a January 29, 2009 release as Ready the Chariot. On October 1, 2008, they released the track “D.O.D. (Dogs of Demikhov)” on Myspace. AllMusic described the band as “well worth keeping an eye on.”