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░ ██ ██ Artist: Ocean Chief ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Universums HΣrd █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2014 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-02-14 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: I Hate Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Svensk mythological slunge/doom metal. █
█ █
█ Ocean Chief are among the strangest 'sludge' bands █
█ that my ears have encountered and I mean it all in █
█ a good way. When you hear the name you might as █
█ well delude yourself that they have something to █
█ do with the post rock/sludge style of metal that's █
█ been popular recently, something in the likes of █
█ later Tombs, but no. They hammer on in a more █
█ primal, refusing to be sophisticated kind of way █
█ and the raw energy that erupts from the record █
█ won't miss burying in its lava anyone listening to █
█ it. █
█ The first song powers off in a very Melvins kind █
█ of a way, contains a lot of vocals (unlike most █
█ other songs) and although the guitar hammers █
█ decently enough to call Ocean Chief above average, █
█ I think the instrumental songs that follow bear █
█ more pride and are definitely among the more █
█ interesting work of the band. It works for them to █
█ build on guitar solos and riffs without the music █
█ becoming too impersonal or boring. What I █
█ personally dig most is the way the band never █
█ fails to sound grim. It's the more nihilistic, █
█ doom kind of sludge rather than something █
█ hardcore. █
█ If you love Melvins's Bullhead you would instantly █
█ hear the King Buzzo manner of raging and blurting. █
█ It can be felt in the first song more than █
█ anywhere else later on. The whole record sounds █
█ like a massive black whole that's going to suck █
█ you in its gravity in any moment. What's best, the █
█ solo guitar is present at so many times, you won't █
█ feel like listening to something deprived of █
█ character. █
█ What could've been improved in my opinion, is the █
█ audibility of some of the instruments, the bass is █
█ barely there, the drumming could've been stronger. █
█ Singing in Swedish will probably leave you █
█ clueless like me about what's going on in the █
█ lyrics. The production is good as it preserves the █
█ raw energy of the band. May I be excused as I am █
█ not an expert in mixing but I think there's █
█ something missing there as at times I hear the █
█ instruments like a bowl of soup instead of pieces █
█ lined as to stand out. █
█ Generally I'd say Universums hΣrd is a good record █
█ to relax to on a grim day. Intelligent without █
█ being pretentious post rock shite. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ Who ever imagined that the vast and infinite █
█ spaces between the bodies celestial would be so █
█ full of sludge, saturated with dreamy ambient █
█ undercurrents? Well, the answer to that would be █
█ Sweden's Ocean Chief, who on their fourth █
█ full-length transport us into that void between █
█ the glittering lights and then begin to flood that █
█ emptiness with anger and frustration. These guys █
█ tackle the doom medium with somewhat of a unique █
█ instrumentation that involves a keyboard player, █
█ and yet he's often so remarkably subtle that his █
█ presence is fully flush with the grimy distortion █
█ on the guitars. Faint hints of organs, lighter █
█ ambient tones swirling into the bitter rage of █
█ colostomy chords and gut-fed grunts that present a █
█ polar opposition to comfort and kindness, but █
█ ensure that Universums hΣrd is a place of subtle █
█ contrasts infinitely crushed with the force of a █
█ million hammers. █
█ Sounds awesome, right? Well, there is a serious █
█ limitation here in that the guitar patterns all █
█ just sort of drudge and drone without much █
█ individual personality. They work best when paired █
█ as a heavily laden harmony with the synth █
█ ("OΣndlighet"), which gives the music a more █
█ funereal aspect, but in general the rhythms are █
█ just really raunchy primal sludge with slowly █
█ churning notes that are just not so compelling. █
█ The drums have a much lighter presence, with the █
█ upper range of percussion hitting just as loudly █
█ on the ear as the kick drums, and the bass just █
█ sort of follows along with the guitar, though it █
█ too has this burdensome, loud presence, especially █
█ when you hear a chord being strung. To my delight, █
█ though, there are some pretty diverse pieces █
█ spread in among the typical style, like the █
█ "FΣrden" and "Frihet" instrumentals which are both █
█ a little groovy, psychedelic and riffier than some █
█ of the more straightforward tunes. Really love the █
█ synthesizer lines in the latter, though the lead █
█ parts are give or take and rather predictably cast █
█ in a bluesy mold with a bit of tremolo picked █
█ indulgence. It's just the longer tunes where the █
█ guitars can tend to drag, or give you the █
█ impression you've just heard their ilk so many █
█ times before...and only the keyboard █
█ embellishments help to carry them above the █
█ potential mediocrity. █
█ Another strength is the vocalist/drummer, Tobias █
█ Larsson, who sounds about as pissed off as the █
█ lower, grueling stuff by Mastodon, or really █
█ anything by Crowbar. He really reaches in there █
█ and pulls the demons from his intestines and then █
█ vomits them all over the galaxy, and usually this █
█ sort of cosmic themed material goes in an opposite █
█ direction, so it feels all the fresher due to this █
█ choice of tone and style. I also keep mentioning █
█ the word 'sludge' here, but Ocean Chief approach █
█ it more from the angle of 70s longhairs bred on █
█ Sabbath, instead of the 'hip metalcore kids █
█ wanting to play something much easier on their █
█ instruments' scene which births a lot of today's █
█ most popular acts in the niche. This is more like █
█ if the band Esoteric had been created 40 years ago █
█ with a different singer and not nearly the same █
█ level of drugged hypnosis induction during █
█ recording sessions. And it's effective enough, I █
█ simply wish the guitars were more involved through █
█ much of the experience, by which I mean the note █
█ choices being more unpredictable and/or unusual. █
█ That said, this is apt to turn most smiles upside █
█ down, and it's not so dry of ideas in the riffing █
█ department that you'll fall asleep. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Universums HΣrd 10:19 ░
░ 2. OΣndlighet 8:58 ░
░ 3. FΣrden 4:14 ░
░ 4. Urtiden 3:33 ░
░ 5. Frihet 2:25 ░
░ 6. M÷rker 8:45 ░
░ 7. Vandringen 4:22 ░
░ 42:36 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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