Late Landing celebrate 20 years of rock ‘n’ roll with their brand new album Odyssey
Hailing from the north east of Scotland, Late Landing are a band that have been crafting their sounds for two decades now and their new album Odyssey could be their finest work yet. Live highlights for the band in 2026 include 3 big festival appearances this summer and a headline show at Beat Generator in Dundee, it has certainly been a good year to catch a live performance from a band who give absolutely everything on stage. With this being their 20th year and describing the new album as ”some of it gets straight to the point, some of it takes a detour” the album title is certainly a poetic choice. After all, it’s not often you can make comparisons between 8th century BC poets and Scottish heavy metal bands. Homer’s Odyssey is epic but how is Late Landing’s?
The album opens with ‘Reveries‘ a short appetiser that feeds straight into ‘The Time is Now‘, an intense, head-banging listening experience that blends raw aggression with strong, memorable melodic hooks. Lead singer Ben Moore’s vocals toe the line between hard rock singing and metal shouting whilst the instrumentals are tight and formidable, topped off with a screeching guitar solo outro.
‘Sinking Feeling‘ is a proper modern rock anthem. Powerful and polished, it fuses the weight of alternative metal with the melodic sensibilities of prog rock. Chest-pounding drums and a thick, anchoring bassline propel the track whilst Moore’s vocals are clean, clear and commanding as he sings of being trapped in a nightmare. Coming in at a more leisurely pace, ‘Grand Illusions‘ is still undeniably heavy rock but the instrumentals in this one are much more reserved and allow the vocals to take centre stage throughout.
Next we have the album’s single ‘Heart In Hand‘, in a word, anthem. In more words, it’s a track characterised by its dynamic shifts in intensity. The song opens with a moody build then erupts into a relentless barrage of sound around the three minute mark. It’s the kind of track I absolutely adore, layer upon layer of heavy metal made to burst speakers and fill stadiums. It’s a powerful listening experience, full of passion, angst and cathartic release.
‘Darkest Days‘ features verses as metal as metal can be but with choruses that are more alt-rock and sing-along, there’s also a huge sounding instrumental break in the middle. It’s actually the drums that stand out most to me in this song, they’re thunderous, precise and propel the track with unstoppable force. Penultimate track ‘All At Once‘ is a quieter slow burn affair and even though I knew the track would inevitably explode at some point, I was still take by surprise by the insane guitar solo that kicks in around the four minute mark. Too often these types of songs don’t have a satisfying payoff after building the anticipation but Late Landing absolutely nail it.
So now for the finale, the title track ‘Odyssey‘ and I have to say, an 11 minute instrumental is a pretty ballsy way to end an album. A spacious and contemplative prelude quickly erupts into a full throttle assault and as you’d expect from a song of this length, there’s a lot of different things going on. The song navigates through a series of dynamic shifts, from blistering high-tempo passages to more groove-oriented, head-banging sections. The production on the album as a whole is fantastic but is most evident in this one as every instrument is so perfectly clear and remarkably powerful. It’s a track that is certainly worthy of its title.
Overall ‘Odyssey’ is everything you want from Late Landing. It’s loud, melodic and has you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Arguably the best Odyssey in any form of media this year. The 20th year of Late Landing has been one to remember, how about another 20?
