THE OCEAN

The Good: Neoarchaean. And some nice artwork.

The Bad: You know those lukewarm showers that go on forever and only heat up for a couple of seconds at a time to lure you into a false sense of hope... well German band The Ocean have turned that experience into a double album.

I heard these guys supporting Opeth along with Cynic a couple of years ago and my overbearing memory of the performance was trying to stop my trousers from falling down as a result of the earth-shattering double-bass drumming. Decided to check out their most celebrated material and after sitting through the full 83 minutes on multiple occasions I can only describe the experience as a chore. I'm no stranger to longer albums but a certain level of variation is necessary. What's on show here just seems incredibly generic.

The Verdict: Feels like 3,000 million years.

As the first in a two part companionship album revolving heavily around religious critique and a humanistic (and quite often negative) study of the Christian faith, 'Heliocentric' represents the beginning of a new era for Germany-based post metal act The Ocean. While I had listened to 'Anthropocentric' (the second half) before this one, I was already a fan of this band's complex and intelligent music from the 'Precambrian' days onwards, and my expectations were high for the next album. This band has always been prone to take on the most ambitious topics ('Precambrian' revolved around the creation of the Earth itself) and 'Heliocentric' is no exception to this rule. A deeply thought-provoking concept by all standards, 'Heliocentric' does ultimately disappoint my high expectations however. While the album is graced with some brilliant moments and lyrics that will surely upstart more than a few existential debates, the band's new direction does feel basic and less effectively executed than some of the great albums they have released in the past.

With a new vocalist here, the sound of the band is obviously changed a fair bit. While the abrasive growls are the same as they have always been (that is, a mixed bag), the introduction of Loic Rossetti is one of the more skilled singers the band has seen through its revolving door of musicians. However, while 'Anthropocentric' shows the singer's talent in an excellent light, 'Heliocentric' feels as if it stretches the vocalist's style in the wrong direction, usually towards a more abrasive direction that could vaguely be compared with the harsh style of Metallica vocalist James Hetfield. Ironically, many aspects of The Ocean's music have actually become much more melodic and harmonious since the atonal and unsettling sounds of 2007's 'Precambrian'. Even going as far as to have a piano-driven ballad like 'Ptolemy Was Wrong', 'Heliocentric' does see the band going in a slightly less complex direction with their music, and that did often feel to me like The Ocean's greatest strength; their meticulously crafted arrangements. Songs like 'Metaphysics Of The Hangman' are driven by chorus structures, and while this doesn't necessarily mean that the music will be worse, in The Ocean's case, it does. Mixed results on Rossetti's new vocals,some inconsistent writing, and a more accessible direction? Doesn't sound good, but the album is far from being poor, and still sports a good deal of strengths.

First among the positive aspects of 'Heliocentric' is the lyrical content and concept. On an even calibre with 'Anthropocentric' here, the lyrics generally revolve around the Church's resentment towards science, as well as to debunk Creationism (a theme further developed with the second part) and question the existence of a divine entity. While this will offend some Christian listeners surely, the lyrics are written quite tastefully, touching upon the subjects through a poetic, often metaphorical language that really becomes the highlight of the album.

The Ocean's 'Heliocentric' is certainly one of the weaker points of The Ocean's career, especially considering when the band has had such success with releasing absolutely phenomenal records. in the past. However, tracks like 'Firmament' and 'The Origin Of Species' and a few others provide a great listening experience typical of the band's output. While the album did not reach my expectations however, it would pave the way for 'Anthropocentric', which is the real masterpiece to be spawned from this project.

With 2007's 'Precambrian', German post-metal group The Ocean (also known as Ocean Collective) came out with a two disc concept epic concerning nothing less than the turbulent creation of the planet Earth. To follow up something so vast, 2010 witnessed the band now releasing two companion albums, each dealing with such topics as the creation of man, the idea of god, and religion. Suffice to say, The Ocean are never short of ambition in the projects they choose to take. While the critique of religion and faith is as ripe a concept as any for a metal album, 'Heliocentric' did end up being a bit of a disappointment. Luckily, the second installment in this chapter of The Ocean turned out to be quite a return to power for the band. With 'Anthropocentric', The Ocean releases one of their most potent efforts yet, with a concept and lyrical content as profound and fiery as the music it is driven by.

When speaking of the sound of this album, there is definitely a more conventional melodic sense here (like 'Heliocentric') than there used to be, in no small part due to the addition of new vocalist Loïc Rossetti, whose clean singing is featured quite prominently here. However, unlike 'Heliocentric', very little of the heaviness and experimentation is relinquished, and there is a very good balance between the heavier vocals and lighter melodic singing. With many of the songs, the clean vocals make some pretty catchy and memorable hooks, but luckily don't feel superficial by doing so.

The title track leads off the album in full force; a nine minute episode of sludgy heaviness, mixed with rhythmic experimentation. While the track begins in a very typical, atonal style for The Ocean, the differences and developments start to be heard when the clean vocals come in, three and a half minutes into the album. In direct contrast to the brute growls, the vocals are often beautifully harmonized, although some of the more stylized singing of Loïc Rossetti can get a tad nasal at times. At least as far as the first track is concerned, the highlights reside in the beautiful mellower moments, where The Ocean gets to properly show their new grasp for great melodies.

Another highlight of the album is the single-worthy 'She Was The Universe', which is a memorable powerhouse from start to finish, despite being highly rhythmically irregular. Along with many of the songs here, the chorus is kept quite melodic. Other noteworthy songs include 'The Grand Inquisitor III', which is the most 'out there' track on 'Anthropocentric'- an electronic trip-hop acid tweak of an interlude- and 'Willie Zum Untergang', a very post-rockish track that showcases the band's more ethereal nature. The only song here that isn't excellent is 'Sewers Of The Soul', which keeps a relatively up- tempo, rock vibe without showing the same compositional complexity and intricacy of the rest of the album.

Lyrically, the material here is bound to cause some controversy, especially among the more religiously-inclined listeners. As was true with 'Heliocentric', 'Anthropocentric' is a harsh, to- the-point critique of Christian fundamentalism and hypocrisy. Philosophical opinions aside, the subject matter is intregated well into a sort of intellectual and thought-provoking poetry that's sure to stir up some debate amongst metalheads.

'Anthropocentric' may very well be a rival of 'Precambrian' for The Ocean's greatest work to date. Despite having one or two songs that feel a bit less inspired than the rest, 'Anthropocentric' is a true definition of the 'thinking man's metal'; highly complex and frenetic sludge metal, mixed with a truly ambitious scope. An imperfect album, but The Ocean's mastery of aesthetic and innovation is readily evident in spades.

Anthropocentric is the perfect definition of a hit-and-miss album for me. There are some huge "hits" that border on masterpiece status, yet there is a decent portion of music here that just fails to capture me in any way. Not because it's bad - if you're a fan of The Ocean, you should love this entire album. The issue here is mainly just a feeling of inconsistency - the mellow post rock and progressive metal sections are very inspired and enjoyable, whereas the post-hardcore sections leave me cold. Although many will disagree with me, I wholeheartedly believe that The Ocean is much better when playing softer music. The Opeth-influenced heavy/light contrasts are something that these guys just can't quite pull off without a slightly awkward atmosphere. It's really a shame, considering all of the fantastic moments on Anthropocentric. If you're a fan of The Ocean or experimental sludge/post metal in general, this is still more than worth an acquisition.

The sound here is experimental/progressive sludge-oriented post metal/hardcore (which is quite a mouthful, to say the least). There are plenty of influences from the post metal scene, as well as bands like Mastodon and even Opeth (mainly in the song structures). The mellow post rock/metal sections are the ones I find myself enjoying the most here - a song like "The Almightiness Contradiction" and "Willie Zum Undertang" is a perfect example of how amazing The Ocean can be. Unfortunately, heavier songs like "Sewers of the Soul" drag down my experience significantly. I enjoy heavy music, but The Ocean sounds a bit uninspired when playing hardcore sections. With that said, almost every song has a few redeemable qualities. Even "Sewers of the Soul" (my least favorite song here) has a solid guitar solo that brings the rest of the song up from pure mediocrity. Another big asset to Anthropocentric is the fantastic musicianship - The Ocean is an extremely tight playing unit, boasting some of the best musicianship in the genre. The two guitarists (Robin Staps and Jonathan Nido) are especially notable, mainly due their terrific guitar harmonies. In a song like "Willie Zum Undertang" it's clear how beautifully these guys can play. The vocals are a bit of a mixed bag for me, but they are always professional and well-done.

The production is great. Anthropocentric sounds absolutely wonderful. Everything sounds clean and crisp - I especially have to applaud the terrific sound of the drums.

Conclusion:

Although I can't say that Anthropocentric is an album that really amazed me, calling it anything less than high-quality would be a lie. I find myself enjoying the softer parts the most, but that's not to say that the heavier sections are poorly made. Fans of The Ocean will adore this album, and I also enjoy it to some extent. For an album that is high-quality, will satisfy the band's fanbase, and attract new fans, 3.5 stars are well deserved. Though far from essential, this still comes as a recommended purchase for post metal fans.

A fine contrast to the heavier, raw second album of this German experimental metal band, 'Fluxion' introduces The Ocean (also known as the Ocean Collective) as a post-metal band that isn't afraid to throw ample amounts of heaviness in as well. Combining the traditional primitive nature of sludge metal with classically-influenced post-rock, there is a very distinctive, dystopian sound here. While 'Fluxion' can be considered as heavy as any other Ocean release, there is alot of melody here that helps lend some powerful atmosphere and ambience to this monster of an album.

While the guitars and vocals can at times be a bit too primal for their own good, a deceptively amazing sense of flow and classical arrangements take 'Fluxion' not shared by most of it's post-hardcore contemporaries. Much like an ocean, The Ocean is vast and massive. What really differentiates this from most other 'post-music' is that there is an abundance of riffs to delve into. While the purely 'post-rock' sections certainly lend a hand to tradition in that they focus on atmosphere, the same unsettling vibe is given throughout. Atonality is used alot here, and it works very well with the more harmonious elements.

'Nazca' is a powerful instrumental opener that really shows what the album is about, intelligent power. Some interesting melodic passages play on top of the brutality, leading seamlessly into the first 'vocal' track, 'The Human Stain.' While this second track begins on a bit of a sour note (there is too much noise and distortion to really get a grip on it) it eventually leads into a middle instrumental section which is really gorgeous and well- arranged. Many of the songs on 'Fluxion' segue into each other, in fact; giving the impression of a running-long track, although each of the songs function as single units.

The last two songs are almost at 'epic' length; the last of the two being almost fifteen minutes in length. 'Isla Del Sol' is my personal favourite of the album, being an apparent counterpart to the track 'Isla Del Luna' from the fantastic EP 'Fogdiver.' It builds up very well, seemingly climaxing at the first (and only) melodic vocal section of the whole album. There are recurring riffs that play throughout the whole song, but the repetition does not make it feel recycled and tired at all. After 'Isla Del Sol' wraps up, it's time for the real epic of the album; 'The Greatest Bane.' I have to say, this is a real monster of a song that functions as a perfect finale to 'Fluxion.' All of the tricks in the book are brought up to the forefront, including the heavy riff sections, string section ambience, and unsettling beauty that makes this band so great.

'Fluxion' has some parts that feel a bit too excessive, but it really is a work of grandeur; especially considering it was the project's debut album. While a later work 'Precambrian' is arguably better and more cohesive, 'Fluxion' stands as being a fantastic debut work, and recommended to anyone that is into the work's genre.

This rare-as-hell EP comes as a very pleasant surprise; something I just found by chance in a used record store. The rarity aside, this is a must-have for any fan of the Ocean right off the bat. Although the digipak the CD comes in is professional and neat, the 'underground' nature is seen inside; Robin Staps actually includes his mailing address inside for people to write him. As a completely instrumental album, The Ocean actually gives out the request that they would like people to send in their recordings of what they think the vocals should sound like! By that alone, this is obviously a unique and daring project, especially for a band that was virtually unknown at the time.

While I can see some people having a difficulty with the fact that it is completely void of singing, it really seems to let the compositions flow the way they want to. Without having to worry about throwing in vocal sections, things are allowed to become as atmospheric, or dark as they need to be. With an impressive production standard to boot, the Ocean goes from some brutally heavy sludge metal to lighter (yet always unsettling) post-rock tendencies. Although the general mood (the band themselves describe it as 'beautiful discomfort') remains the same throughout, many different timbres are employed, and non-metal instruments such as the piano and cello are introduced not just for novelty's sake, but to meaningfully add something new to the music.

The highlight on the album is undoubtedly the final track; 'The Long Road To Nha Trang.' With schizophrenic melodies and atonal guitar work, it almost seems that the entire album was leading up to this; even though the rest of it is filled with high points. While there is no showboating whatsoever, the technicality shifts into the next gear to the point where parts feel like aural madness. I would strongly suggest checking out this track right now so you can see what great music this EP has to offer.

The music in itself might be a bit of a mixed bag, but the quality of the overall package and the spirit behind it is certainly worth a purchase and a look into.

This is the fourth album of this multinational band and easily their weakest. What happened? I mean I knew this was going to be a "softer" album and I'm ok with this. But what happened to the songs? They're really simple and unsurprising. Precambrian was an excellent album with many great vocalists and epic orchestral parts and Heliocentric features only one singer and not a very good one for that matter, I liked Pilat's voice very much and the new guy has a more typical voice, he can't scream as loudly as Mike nor can he sing as emotionally. The orchestrations are very poor and seem forced. This album also sounds worse than it's predecessor, Precambrian had a full and rich sound and Heliocentric sounds very flat, the music itself dosen't have the depth that all other albums of this band had. Even the lyrics have gotten worse! This is a concept album about the genesis of religion and I find the lyrics to be very simple and not as poetic as on The Precembrian. I had very high hopes for this album but the result is very dissapionting. While Precambrian remains one of my favorite metal albums and I enjoy both Fluxion and Aeolian Heliocentric is simply a medicore symphonic metal album with not many prog elements.

The music is a mix of post rock and more heavy post hardcore/ metal sections. Knowing The Ocean´s album releases, Fogdiver is actually surprisingly less heavy than what I had expected. I was reminded of Mogwai a couple of times. There are still plenty of heavy parts for the metal heads though, so don´t despair if that´s your poison.

The production is professional and suits the music well.

No vocals in post hardcore/ metal is always an obstacle for me, but with Fogdiver, The Ocean prove that instrumental post hardcore/ metal can be highly entertaining and quite clever as well. They would not pursue this style though as they would add raw vocals to their music on the debut full-length album Fluxion (2004). Fogdiver deserves a 3.5 star rating.

The word 'ocean' can bring deep images to ones mind; a vast expanse of water, stretching for miles upon miles without apparent end. The ocean is a sight of grandeur and overwhelming majesty.

Keeping this in mind, The Ocean's 'Precambrian' works in much the same way. It is a project of brilliant ambition and risk. Melding a very raw, heavy sound with more thoughtful post-rock tendancies, 'Precambrian' is musically contributed to by over 80 musicians, including an orchestra. It took Robin Staps (the composer) 3 years of his life to put together and arrange this monster.

'Precambrian' is composed of two discs; each portraying a different side of the band's musical leanings, and focusing each on different ends of the sonic spectrum. The first disc ('Hadean/Archean') is a 20 minute dose of raw power and energy, and is without a doubt the weaker side of the album. I've always considered the first disc to be a bonus EP of sorts, and not necessarily a representation of the album at all. It's best to think of 'Hadean/Archean' as a decent opening band before the mind-blowing headliner show. The first disc isn't that bad, but there's very little prog here, and the five songs on the EP sound all sound like each other. There are a few highlights in it (the opening riff of 'Neoarchean' for example) but it's not not really worth delegating a bunch of time to it. Based on the first disc alone, I would give 'Precambrian' a three star rating, give or take.

It is however, the second disc that really shines, and gives 'Precambrian' it's fair place in my heart and mind as a true masterpiece. From the first five seconds of the disc onwards, theres a definite feeling that this is not the sort of material that was found on the first disc. This is something different; and a very welcoming change at that. There are so many different instruments being used here, and different styles being thrown into the melting pot. The extended album introduction 'Siderian' has a saxophone solo, whereas the closer 'Cryogenian' is nothing less than an erudite classical composition with piano and cellos. Songs such as the album highlight 'Stenian' and 'Rhyacian' stand out as being the best put- together pieces on the album, being that they have the post-rock 'build-up' sensibility, but don't tarry too long on getting to where they need to go. Other songs like 'Calymmian' opt to take their time, and while it can detract from the song itself, the progression only benefits the work as a whole.

All in all, 'Precambrian' is possibly the most ambitious and shattering post-metal release of all time. It is a challenging, dense piece of music however, and can tak ea good while to completely delve into and explore the sonic landscape completely. The reward for doing so however, is well worth it. Five stars.