Anthropocentric

The Ocean has always put out music that does something to push the boundaries. While being sludge metal at heart, The Ocean’s experimentation with influences from various genres and unconventional song structures are what set them apart. This experimentation mixed with creative and emotive songwriting makes for some stellar output.

Anthropocentric is the second half of The Ocean’s 2010 double album, with the first half, Heliocentric, impressing me with its songwriting, vocals, drumming, guitarwork, and its avant-garde leanings. Anthropocentric manages to build off this, and is in my opinion, of higher quality than the amazing Heliocentric. The guitarwork is amazing, with melodic clean and lead guitars shimmering over heavier, sludgier riffs. Some songs focused more on heaviness factor such as “She Was the Universe”, while others focus more on creating an ambient atmosphere such as “Wille Zum Untergang”.

The vocals on this album are just as amazing as on Heliocentric. Most songs have a catchy vocal hook of some sorts such as “Heaven TV”. The vocal melodies are beautiful and are often accompanied by the aforementioned guitarwork that complements them perfectly. Rossetti’s harsh vocals are also great, lashing out at you with the oppressiveness of the heavy riffs. The guest vocals on “The Grand Inquisitor III: A Tiny Grain of Faith” are great, and help to create a very eerie and uncomfortable atmosphere, especially when the violin kicks in near the end,

Rhythmically, The Ocean dominates here once again. Luc is an amazing drummer who knows how to share the spotlight with the other instruments, without hogging it, or getting lost in the background. His drum grooves and fills are amazing, and he utilizes frequent use of his cymbals and hi hats to relieve tension during climaxes. The bass on this album is also great, pairing very well with the guitars and drums. The bass tone is top of the shelf, and it actually stands out in the mix, and doesn’t always just mimic the guitars so that it brings something interesting to the table musically.

Every song in this album is strong, and the brilliant musical ideas are very well organized into cohesive pieces of music. To take it a step further, the album is brilliantly composed, and this is an album clearly meant to be listened to in its entirety. When treating this album as one song, it is even more enjoyable to listen to with the title track acting as a perfect intro, a few heavy sections, a few ambient sections, and plenty of emotion evoking riffs, melodies, and rhythms, and the last 3 tracks putting in an ideal ending to such a moving album.

Prior to relistening to this album, Heliocentric was my favorite The Ocean album, however this has now surpassed it. Everything in this album is so well thought out and organized with several memorable moments. This album ranges emotionally to sheer joy to pure anger and it’s just fantastic. This album is also fairly accessible, even for those not into metal, so I’d really recommend it to anybody.

Favorite tracks: all besides “He that Wavereth”

The Ocean is back with its follow up to this year's Heliocentric, an album that may have surprised the lot of you due to its emphasis on the more orchestral side of the band as well as its lack of heaviness. If you were one who assumed the second half of The Ocean's latest concept would return to the heavier side of things, you are correct. Mostly.

To say The Ocean has a knack for releasing double LPs would be an understatement, considering it's the only thing they've ever done as far as their full-length albums go. Fluxion and Aeolian were both meant to be released as one album, as well as Heliocentric and Anthropocentric. The most perturbing aspect of this ongoing concept (with the exception of Precambrian) is the fact that the band's attempts to release elongated, two-part concept albums are a bit lopsided. I do credit The Ocean for managing to display a wide array of different sounds and approaches to metal, but it's difficult to not assume that some of it is filler. Therein lies the catch 22: The Ocean's willingness to experiment is what sets them apart, but it's not what makes listening to their music enjoyable. Fortunately, quite a few of the songs on Anthropocentric are pretty damn enjoyable. I know...I'm getting to that. Please pardon the parallel between the long-windedness of this review and the amount of time it took me to comprehend The Ocean's latest Sunday school science lesson.

The Ocean has quickly returned to its sludgier ways, as Anthropocentric immediately leads off with its crushing ten-minute title track. If there's one thing the band has mastered, it's how to write incredibly catchy hooks. Although Staps and other guest musicians help make up the album's vocal tracks, Loïc Rossetti has proven himself to be a marvelous vocalist. Whether his punishing screams are accompanied by the sound of a tuned-down guitar or his clean vocals dance alongside a softer, melodic chorus, Rossetti's vocal passages (especially during the clean segments) are non-obnoxious and share the same caliber as Linus Jägerskog of Burst. Aside from the opening track, "She Was the Universe," "The Grand Inquisitor II," and "Heaven TV" are all examples of how The Ocean's beautiful guitar melodies, carried by the dirtiness of crunchy, distorted chugging, lead perfectly into each chorus. Although each of the aforementioned songs has a fairly accessible structure individually, they all follow fairly different patterns and take some getting used to. With time, you'll be happily singing along to them in your head. The only problem with Anthropocentric is that the same can't be said about the remainder of the songs. A few of the heavier songs are far from memorable and contain little variation, while the softer ones are annoyingly similar to every decent post act you've ever heard. Don't get me wrong here -- utilizing a few minutes of space on an album such as this to play some softer jams is certainly more desirable than 70 minutes of arid guitar meandering with no vocals, but it feels too much like filler. Not to mention, didn't The Ocean already give us an entire album of softer songs anyway? A few string instruments and bizarre keyboard effects spice up Anthropocentric's lighter moments, but they don't really maintain a big enough role to greatly enhance the album.

Robin Staps, the mastermind and only remaining founding member of what one was once The Ocean Collective, has made a considerable amount of changes since the release of the group's 2007 meisterwerk, Precambrian. Oceanland, a former World War II aluminum factory turned recording studio and living quarters for The Ocean has since been seized by Berlin officials. Additionally, Staps has stated that the band is now an official five-piece (plus a permanent sound manager) with guest musicians. Although a touring band with thirty or so members (some of whom have become lost to alcoholism, have been severely injured on stage or have merely disappeared en route) sounds frighteningly exciting, Staps has made a step in the right direction as far as the band's lineup is concerned, because I personally don't believe The Ocean's plethora of guest musicians or explorations into uncharted metal territory is what makes Anthropocentric worth listening to.

Now for the challenge: release a 70-80 minute LP, condensing all of their desired sounds into one cohesive, coherent album that is enjoyable and doesn't require so much fucking time to listen to. A dainty portion of mixed greens is fine on a side plate, but the meat and potatoes are really what we all look forward to. If The Ocean can serve more of it, I'd be willing to bet their best is yet to come.

Originally written for MetalReview.com

Being a newborn to The Ocean after discovering "She Was The Universe" on a Youtube suggestion, I am not well versed in the history of The Ocean. However, I couldn't think of a greater album to kickstart a love affair with the German prog metal band. A 10 track CD loaded to about 50 minutes, it varies greatly in song lengths. Ranging from 9 minutes, down to just shy of 2 minutes.

The first song, "Anthropocentric" hits hard and straight away, which initially does take some time to get used to, but easily becomes a selling point for the harder of us. This song is by far the most roller coaster of all the songs on this disc, it goes from heavy riffs (and heavier vocals) to a clean mellow prog section 2-3 minutes in which spreads right down to the end of the song, however this does very little to spoil the song, infact it works perfectly to Loïc's vocal abilities.

As I am stuck inside a musical box my tastes for this album didn't venture far past the 6th song, "The Grand Inquisitor III: A Tiny Grain of Faith", as from there it does start to slip off the beautiful chain that The Ocean had carried through the start to middle of the album. For the heavier bastards of us, you can't miss listening to "Anthropocentric", "The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness", "She Was The Universe" and "The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots & Locusts" and "Sewers of The Soul", as they very effectively carry the shredding riffs and powerful vocals one would expect from The Ocean.

Disregarding (the sometimes extreme) variations in tempo, this album is amazing and is a must-have for any fanatical atheists with a taste for well crafted prog-metal. Which brings me to a final point. The vocals.

While clean and beautiful at times, and others harsh and deadly, the lyrics are very strong and 'directive', showing a clear distaste for Christianity. And while this can easily be overlooked for the Christians amongst, it does become a bit abusive and nitty at times. However it hasn't put me off the album at all, it simply creates a more technical and detailed image.

This could easily be recommended to fans of Dream Theater, Mastodon's "Crack The Skye" album or Opeth fans looking for something a bit darker.

And is best played very loud! Enjoy!

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.

German heavy-hitters, The Ocean, return from the drawing-board with possibly the most intricate music in their sixth full-length album "Anthropocentric." This release is a cumulation of all the music these guys have made in the past, and I have to say - It sounds amazing. You may be wondering, "what sets this album apart from their last full-length "Heliocentric?" Here are all the juicy details:

The Ocean has always been a band that you could see progression in musical style and skill throughout their releases. Some aspects took longer to improve on than others. I'll be honest. By the time "Heliocentric" came out, I was still not completely impressed by the clean singing that was being recorded on the albums. While I felt that the vocals always fit the music, I always found myself frustrated in the fact that the clean vocals were always inches away from the line that distinguishes the good clean vocals from the great clean vocals. I'm not sure if the vocalist got better with his voice, or the band got better at making the vocals blend with the music more, but, regardless, the cleans have crossed the metaphorical line, and truly sound great. This new found vocal beauty gives "Anthropocentric" the most mature and distinguished release in The Ocean's repertoire thus far. For the most part, the screams have transitioned over from the last album, which is a good thing. Once you've got a solid growl mastered, there is little to no reason to change it. The growls on "Anthropocentric" as deep, full growls that match the other instruments well.

Instruments wise, this album is a gem as well. Though The Ocean has had a pretty consistent sound throughout most of their albums, the riffs and beats of this album are fresh, catchy, rolling and sluggish at the same time. Though this formula is more than familiar, the band did a great job at not letting that restrain them from writing tracks that are reminiscent of older tracks, yet completely new at the same time. My favorite track off the album, "The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots & Locusts," is the epitome of my last statement. With style similar to the track "Metaphysics of the Hangman" off their last album, the track blends heavy, whipping riff-action with a fast-paced chorus that sticks out as the high-point of the album. The only difference is "The Grand Inquisitor II" is a far better track.

If you haven't noticed yet, The Ocean isn't in the bizz for making a few decent tracks to stand out from an otherwise bland album. Quite the contrary, they are in the bizz for just making whole albums into experiences. This is done through using the tracks of the album as vessels for carrying the overall mood of the album through it's duration. This is precisely what The Ocean does on this release. Through stellar pacing, and an atmosphere that could, well, fill an ocean, the band creates more than just an album on "Anthropocentric" - They craft a fine-tuned atmosphere that works in complete unison.

Though this album has many areas in which it demands high praise there was one place that kind of dropped the ball for me. It spans from the sixth track on the album, "The Grand Inquisitor III: A Tiny Grain of Faith." While the track sounds cool in it's own respect, it features a female guest singer (To whom I don't know a name), and doesn't hold much musical content other than a fancy violin section, and a spacey tonal passage. In short - The track seems like filler to me. It was a huge let-down, and frankly, the more I listen to the album, the less I like the track. It wouldn't have been such a let-down if the rest of the album weren't so damn good. But to have such a rolling album come to a halt for this one outcast song was a major disappointment on my end.

Luckily, this one song wasn't nearly bad enough to ruin the album. If you're a fan of any of The Ocean's previous works, I highly recommend you check out this one. Combining all aspects of past releases, it delivers a punch so hard that it comes up just inches behind the bands magnum opus "Precambrian." This is not an album you want to miss out on.