Artist Origin: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genre: Deathcore
Label: Earache Records
Running Time: 51 minutes
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Best Part: Title track - an instrumental track is a slight shift in pace and doesn't feel out of place.
Favorite Tracks: Samael the Destroyer, Districts of Misery, Depths, and A Mandatory Sacrifice
Grade: 4.0
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Depths in 20 words or less:
Far from your bargain basement deathcore experience, this record is laden with interesting surprises and dynamics instrumentation for the genre.
The Band:
Oceano is a five member deathcore bands playing out of Chicago that are all about bone crushing brutality, from the meaty, chuggy guitarwork down to the bass drops, blast beats and breakdowns. Oceano amassed a local following between 2007 and 2008, eventually signing to Earache records and releasing their debut. Then band has gone through a number of lineup changes, with only vocalist Adam Warren, remaining as a member of the first full lineup. Which is more than enough, as Warren carries a distinct set of vocals, personality and image - the man is a tank, with a very powerful live presence, as I've seen him with Oceano and as a replacement vocalist on tour for Chelsea Grin when Alex Koehler broke his jaw.
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| Oceano vocalist Adam Warren |
Oceano also released their second album Contagion in late 2010.
Jay's Take on Depths:
Most metal heads who are on the fence about deathcore or who generalize it all as being a terrible genre to begin with often forego giving most bands labelled under it a chance. But for someone looking for equal measures of brutality, technicality and harmony, oddly enough Depths has a lot of Depth to it. Oceano's debut album features a number of dynamic tonal shifts, including fast, hard charging blastbeats, heavily down tuned and drawn out drags, churning riffs, Warren's signature croaking gutturals and the use odd time signatures and progressive post-metal feels that echo of bands such as Neurosis and Isis. The entire record packs a considerable punch that is enough to keep any seasoned metal veteran on their toes - if of course they enjoy this particular brand of no holds barred brutality. Depths is a record that knows its place within the genre it represents, and utilizes the strengths of that genre tied together with bits and pieces of other genres to create a record that doesn't try to be a Jack of All Trades, but rather a strong coalition of heaviness, atmosphere and brutality all at once.
Sample of the Day:
Today's sample Districts of Misery, and the interestingly placed title track which is an instrumental interlude that really covers all of Oceano's bases.
- J
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