The Ocean - Anthropocentric
Rating
RIYL
MastodonIsis
Thrice
Baroness
Release Date
11/09/2010
Label
Metal BladeTracklist
1. Anthropocentric 9:242. The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness 5:02
3. She Was the Universe 5:39
4. For He That Wavereth… 2:07
5. The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots & Locusts 6:33
6. The Grand Inquisitor III: A Tiny Grain of Faith 1:56
7. Sewers of the Soul 3:44
8. Wille Zum Untergang 6:03
9. Heaven TV 5:04
10. The Almightiness Contradiction 4:34
11. The Grand Inquisitor IV: Exclusion from Redemption (Bonus track on vinyl only)
Users Rating |
Your RatingCreate an account or log in to rate this album |
Recent Ratings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One word that doesn’t fit in the genre of progressive rock is the idea of subtlety. No other genre of music has a band releasing two concept albums this year titled Heliocentric and Anthropocentric dealing with contradictions of Christianity and Creationism. The Ocean has been making music since 2000 and been tinkering with their own brand of progressive/post metal since Fluxion in 2004. If you have been following them at all throughout the years you know the journey The Ocean is capable of taking the listener on, from extreme metal sections to classical compositions with full orchestral backing. While being more consistently heavier than previous outings, this is still very much The Ocean, and if you were not a fan before now then this will probably not change your mind.
Anthropocentric is a much heavier release than its counterpart Heliocentric, and the more metal arrangements vary from sludgy to the technical. The Ocean might not do post-metal better than Isis or play as technical as Between the Buried and Me, but it’s the fact that they combine all these different styles into a coherent sound that makes them unique. For example, on “Heaven TV” they start off with a technical metal rhythm that transitions into one of the catchiest choruses on the album, while “Sewers of the Soul” is a stoner metal influenced track, sounding very similar in style to bands like High on Fire.
A majority of the album has screamed or raspy yelling vocals, though that’s not to say there aren't a lot of quieter moments on this release. Clean vocals are one area where they pull themselves away from the ever growing crowd of progressive metal bands like Isis, Mastodon and Baroness. There is a lot of variety in the vocal delivery with certain clean sung passages that sound more in line with straight forward rock acts than other “stoner” metal bands. This might be one area where death metal purists will be disappointed because even the heaviest tracks (“Anthropocentric” and “She was the Universe”) have clean singing on them. Instead of creating one heavy album and one mellow album this more streamlined approach could be the direction they will adapt for their future endeavors.
The post-rock style shown predominately on their Precambrian release is toned down here. The track “The Grand Inquisitor 3: A Tiny Grain of Faith” is a short experimental track with only keyboards, a violin and a female vocalist that creates an atmosphere that ranges from haunting to uplifting in less than 2 minutes. This leads to the lone instrumental track “Wille Zum Untergang” that is essentially one long post-rock build up, but is also one of the best tracks on the album. Even though they toned down the instrumental passages on this album, they still are able to create a distinct atmosphere on each track with just enough space to allow certain parts to breathe.
The quiet to loud dynamics do flow better on this album than on Heliocentric. Bands like Between the Buried and Me jump around genres with a jarring sense of abandonment taking a page from Mike Patton’s playbook. The Ocean makes the switch much more natural with no WTF? moments where you are left scratching your head (like BTBAM going into their bluegrass section during “Ants of the Sky”). There is enough variety where each song doesn't become completely predictable, but after four consistent albums most fans know where the band are going. After writing songs like “Untimely Meditations” and “Cryogenian” it’s pretty tough to really surprise the listener. They haven’t progressed much on this album, other than to modify a winning formula, but being a band that encompasses so many different styles it’s tough to describe what progress would be.
--Joshua Snyder
Comments
Lehigh Valley, PA
This album is fucking, amazing.
Senegal Africa
Im not sure yet if its better then Precambrian but its definitely more consistent then Heliocentric which really didn't do much for me.
Listening to:
fuckin african mosques (Tang na bu baax)
Dallas, TX
I have not been able to really get into this band until this album. Fucking amazing is right.