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(2023) The Ocean - Holocene [3CD Boxset]
Review:
Holocene marks the conclusion of the band's paleontology series that began with 2018's Phanerozoic I: Paleozoic and continued with 2020's Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic. Always planned as a trilogy, its thematic approach charts earth's epochs in geological time. The Holocene is, thus far, the most recent (and shortest) epoch, marking humanity's appearance. Normally, composing tracks began with guitarist Robin Staps creating a riff, drum beat, or vocal line. Here, core musical ideas were initially generated by keyboardist/synthesist Peter Voigtmann during the COVID-19 quarantine. He sent raw demos to Staps, who was impressed that they resonated with the Ocean's musical persona, and added guitars before developing them with the band in 2022. The Ocean made a change behind the mixing desk by enlisting veteran engineer Karl Daniel Liden, who also mastered the album. Set opener "Preboreal" is a direct segue from "Holocene," the final track on Phanerozoic II. Haunting synth patterns ripple, pulse, and breathe before the band enters. Singer Loïc Rossetti's layered, reverbed vocals (with assistance from Staps and drummer Paul Seidel) are clean and look directly back at human development, noting that despite our ability to reason critically, we remain existentially lost. Overdubbed synth brass buoys Rossetti before guitars and drums roar with detuned urgency. "Boreal" melds gothic and industrial electronics before low-tuned basslines, distorted guitars, and thudding kick drums frame Rossetti's vocal. Single "Sea of Reeds" commences with synthed horns and piano recalling Massive Attack -- they're devotees of Mezzanine -- as the band sounds nearly psychedelic, with vibraphones, hand percussion, synthed chimes, and echoing basslines ratcheting up the tension. Rossetti's vocal retells the Old Testament story of Jehovah's parting of the Red Sea, the escape of the Israelites, and the destruction of the Pharoah's army. "Atlantic" begins inside a plodding industrial frame. Piano, drums, synths, and Rossetti emerge, carrying a minimal melody. Minutes later, the Ocean reveal themselves still very much a metal band. Grinding guitars from Staps and David Ramis Åhfeldt war with Mattias Hägerstrand's filthy bass, massive kick drums, and layers of keys buoying a lyric that indicts humanity's failures. The opening portion of "Suboreal" sounds like a sinister version of OMD before it transitions into a raucous post-metal monolith. The electro-acoustic neo-Gothic rocker "Unconformities"' first half offers lead vocals from Karin Park of Norwegian prog-metal outfit Årabrot, and the second half explodes into thrash with Rossetti screaming. "Parabosis" segues out of it into raw, hooky prog rock. It picks up in intensity, but never loses the hooky frame. Closer "Subatlantic" unfurls slowly from a moody psychedelic intro akin to "The Quiet Observer," then suddenly shifts gears to sharp, angular metal. It closes with a darkly synthed brass chart, loops, and ambient sounds. Holocene delivers the most varied, restless, and experimental music the Ocean has yet recorded -- especially as they lean into electronic music. — Berlin, Germany
Track List:
CD 1 Holocene
01 - Preboreal
02 - Boreal
03 - Sea of Reeds
04 - Atlantic
05 - Subboreal
06 - Unconformities
07 - Parabiosis
08 - Subatlantic
CD 2 Holocene (Instrumental)
01 - Preboreal
02 - Boreal
03 - Sea of Reeds
04 - Atlantic
05 - Subboreal
06 - Unconformities
07 - Parabiosis
08 - Subatlantic
CD 3 SHRVL - Limbus (Instrumental)
01 - Response
02 - Remission
03 - Relapse
04 - Recovery
05 - Recurrence
Media Report:
Genre: electronic, hard rock/heavy metal, prog-rock
Country: Berlin, Germany
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
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