Lead Guitar (fictional),
Bass Guitar (fictional)
Odin Anderson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Other names | Marko Saaresto (voice) Olli Tukiainen (lead guitar) Markus Kaarlonen (bass guitar) Cliff Carpenter (AW) Harry Diston (AWII, old) Marko Saaresto (AWII, young) |
| Occupation | Old Gods of Asgard |
| Years active | 1971 - 1978, 2012 - Present |
Odin Anderson is one of the founding members of the Old Gods of Asgard from Remedy Entertainment's Connected Universe. There is both a real and a fictional element to this persona, with the band having now had a genuine album release Rebirth: Greatest Hits that charted in Finland and a live performance at The Game Awards 2023. His Poets of the Fall counterpart is Marko Saaresto.
The Reality
Odin Anderson has been portrayed by multiple people across voice roles, live action footage and musical performance.
2010 - 2019
His first appearance was as a voiced character in the game Alan Wake, portrayed by Cliff Carpenter. Later in the game, the tracks Children of the Elder God and The Poet and the Muse feature Marko Saaresto as Odin's vocals and Olli Tukiainen as Odin's lead guitar part. Saaresto and Tukiainen also provided these parts for the tracks Balance Slays the Demon in Alan Wake's American Nightmare and Take Control in Control.
2023 - Present
The Old Gods of Asgard featured again in Alan Wake II, with the Anderson Brothers appearing both in their "current" old age and in their youth at the height of the band's fame. The old Odin is a voiced character portrayed by Harry Diston, while the young Odin appears only in live action - portrayed by Marko Saaresto. He wears a black eyepatch and a long black trench coat in the role.
Saaresto mimes playing a bass guitar for the tracks Herald of Darkness and Dark Ocean Summoning, but this part was actually recorded by Markus Kaarlonen who portrays Odin's brother Tor Anderson in the live action. The old Odin can be seen with a lead guitar during the game's Dark Ocean Summoning set-piece, but this part was recorded by Olli Tukiainen - as can be seen in the live action footage of his deceased alter-ego Bob Balder.
On 7th December 2023, founding members of Poets of the Fall Saaresto, Tukiainen and Kaarlonen performed as Old Gods of Asgard at The Game Awards 2023. Saaresto sang live in the role of Odin Anderson on Herald of Darkness, again miming the bass guitar part that had been pre-recorded by Kaarlonen.
The Fiction
Odin Anderson was one of the founding members of the Old Gods of Asgard in 1971, alongside his brother Tor Anderson, "Fat" Bob Balder and Loki Darkens. Following Loki's departure from the band in 1972 and Balder's death in 1978, the band was disbanded. However under the stewardship of Barry Wheeler, the Anderson Brothers returned to the studio and stage in 2012. Odin is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the band. His other role has varied over the years as either lead guitarist or bass guitarist.
Odin, like his brother Tor is aware of the power of Cauldron Lake. Tor compares The Clicker to "an amp", implying their own use of a similar object to amplify the power of their music back in the 1970s. They claim to have fought and defeated a "dark army of the scratching hag" in 1976, referring to Barbara Jagger as host to the Dark Presence. Both Anderson brothers are seers, able to probe the minds of other characters or have telepathic conversations with other seers, as demonstrated by Tor's granddaughter Saga Anderson. This ability allows Odin to speak with Saga despite his drunken incapacitated state.
The story around how Odin lost his eye is unresolved, with seemingly contradictory information available. A single source describes him losing the eye three different times - given to Mimir before time to drink from the well (a reference to the mythological Odin), taken out to be able to see in 1976 (but he was drunk on moonshine so perhaps a metaphor) and taken by the "dark one" who stands on the threshold. The last of these is most likely true as it explains why Odin now wears the eyepatch on the opposite side as the dark one "took the wrong eye".