Ocean, The: Anthropocentric

As has been the formula for The Ocean the past few years, they have released two CDs in the same year, and the latest Anthropocentric couldn't be any more different than Heliocentric. Heliocentric was more of an atmospheric affair that showed off the bands progressive & orchestral side, while Anthropocentric see The Ocean return to thunderous flavors while still retaining their progressive and experimental edge.

The opening title track lets you know exactly where this album is going to take you, as this near 10 minute epic kicks off with mountains of boooming sludge-ridden metal angst before settling into a melodic and quite textured pace that probably would please most fans of Opeth or Mastodon. A mix of heavy doom riffs and jangly psychedelic chords permeate the crushing " The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness", as the band sounds like a weird cross between Isis and Fear Factory, and they churn out plenty of bombastic extreme metal on the cyber-metal of "She was the Universe". Lead vocalist Loïc Rossetti does a great job here delivering awesome growls & bellows as well as highly melodic clean passages, usually changing things up on each and every track for plenty of variety. He's all over the place on the quite complex "The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots and Locusts", a piece that also features some dazzling guitar, drum, & bass work, and unleashes some fierce metalcore screams on the rampaging "Heaven TV". Interesting thing to see the band throw in a mellow post rock instrumental here in the form of "Wille Zum Untergang", a minimalistic approach to say the least that is probably 3 minutes too long, but you have to give the band credit for trying something different.

Overall, Anthropocentric is a pretty diverse affair, containing some crushing metal, technical prog, some jazzy bits, post rock, and of course doom/sludge. Fans who were somewhat put off by the melodic & orchestral Heliocentric will be happy to know that The Ocean haven't abandoned what got them to the game in the first place.

Track Listing
1. Anthropocentric 9:24
2. The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness 5:02
3. She was the Universe 5:39
4. For He that Wavereth... 2:06
5. The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots and Locusts 6:33
6. The Grand Inquisitor III: A Tiny Grain of Faith 1:55
7. Sewers of the Soul 3:44
8. Wille Zum Untergang 6:02
9. Heaven TV 5:03
10. The Almightiness Contradiction 4:34

Added: December 17th 2010
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band MySpace
Hits: 2517
Language: english

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