The Ocean-Anthropocentric

Metal Blade
2010

I remember hearing Precambrian from the Ocean almost three years ago and just being in awe not just by the musical styles that the band brought to their sound, but also just how easy they made it sound. The release of "Heliocentric" early this year was met with far more mixed reactions and rightly so as it brought about a definite change from their earlier efforts. The metal foundation that was such a backbone of "Precambrian" was with a lighter more subtle approach. I am guessing the bands love of progressive music became more prominent to them than did their heavy influences. Although many fans may have hoped for a return to the heavier style, "Anthropocentric" serves as more of a combination of the styles presented on both "Precambrian" and "Heliocentric". For my tastes I certainly feel that this take certainly gives the listener a huge variety of sounds. In fact the first go around it was actually overwhelming as I tried to take in all of the sounds being thrown at me. That's okay, it was a tough task and one that required several plays and some real concentration on my part to truly absorb all that the Ocean tried to accomplish on this album. Some of the metal parts make their way back into play on this go around, but we also get some vast and frequently type passages as well. The verdict is that this band is certainly accomplished enough to handle playing all of these styles, but even more importantly they know to arrange them so that they compliment one another. Maybe not the album that all of their fans were hoping for, but ultimately it's a superb showcase of their many ideas.