Odin

Penelope Spheeris captured the excesses of Odin in her documentary The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization, Pt. II: The Metal Years, cementing the Los Angeles heavy metal and hard rock band’s place in Sunset Strip lore. Emerging as one of the scene’s quickest-climbing cult favorites during the early 1980s, the group weathered several early lineup shifts; among them, Damien C. Phillips—later known as Brad Parker and an initial member of Metallica—contributed to the 1983 debut EP Caution. Stability arrived with the arrival of Randy O. Roberg on vocals, Jeff Duncan on guitar, Aaron Samson on bass, and Shawn Duncan on drums, the same quartet that recorded the 1985 EP Don’t Take No for an Answer. Those years brought prominent support slots with Warrant, W.A.S.P., Ratt, Tesla, Dokken, Armored Saint, Bang Tango, and Keel, plus the memorable film appearance and the follow-up EP The Gods Must Be Crazy in 1986. Activity halted by 1988, after which Perris Records gathered the band’s earlier EPs and stray singles into the anthologies Fight for Your Life and By the Gods. The original members, minus Roberg, reconvened for several one-off concerts in 2017; the following year Cleopatra signed them and issued Best of Odin, which added one newly recorded song alongside a previously unheard live track.