Despite being on a label mostly run by members of The Ocean, Lo! are perpetrators of sludge that is slightly more gun-ho in style. It’s certainly fair to say that the Australians pitch themselves more in “No” era Old Man Gloom territory, or even somewhere approaching Mastodon, than they do the more considered terrain of Isis or Neurosis.

Instrumental opener ‘As Above’ sets the scene perfectly clearly. It slowly builds until exploding into the furious hardcore-tinged burst that is ‘Bloody Vultures’. The opening tracks see Lo! at their most furious, with vocalist Jamie-Leigh Smith providing some of the best larynx-shredding vocals you will hear this year. Lo! openly admit the influence of Converge and this decimator of a track demonstrates that clearly with its brutal combination of pace and power. Many of the best moments on the record,  in fact, are those when Lo! are going full steam ahead.

Occasionally the near-unrelenting ferocity of Lo!’s attack becomes slightly blunted by its sheer ardour. ‘Caruncula’ in particular suffers slightly from feeling a little too like a continuation of the fifth gear mentalism of ‘Bloody Vultures’ and ‘Ghost Promenade’. For a brief period things look like they might be getting worryingly one-dimensional. One senses that better spacing of the record’s two “ambient” tracks, which are placed just one track apart, would help add a bit of further exhilaration to a couple of the more bombastically heavy moments that appear here.

This view is enhanced by the superb use of quieter moments in the two stand-out tracks. ‘Fallen Leaves’ and ‘Bleak Vanity’ are, on the face of things, slightly more doom-oriented than most of the songs on this record, but this is only because they pretty much run the gamut across Lo!’s stylistic territory.  There’s unbound fury next to up-tempo riffing alongside sustained low-end actions and ambient interludes. Indeed, it is when all these elements co-align that Lo! prove themselves to be fairly essential listening for heaviness devotees.

Gigatron2000 is a mighty spaceship containing three Dutch blokes, which is currently hurtling through the universe looking for bigger and better riffs. It’s been a successful mission so far because their first contact, an album entitled The Cosmic Desert Cruise is rammed full of more cosmic riffs than you can shake a futuristic ray gun at.

It launches with ‘Ancient Hyperdrive’, a no nonsense blast of top draw stoner instrumental jamming. I could end the review there because that pretty much nails the whole thing. The pounding riffs come thick and fast, it’s heavy, shit loads of fun and is very uplifting. Gigatron2000 are on quite some trip, which rubs off on you very quickly and you just want to be beamed up there with them (I tried to do this, didn’t work).

There’s nothing particularly revolutionary going on and the album will not change your life (unless this happens to be your first instrumental stoner rock album) but when the riff combos are this good, who cares?

There isn’t a bad song in the bunch, all around the two and half minute mark and equally churning out nod inducing awesomeness and by the time you reach ‘Monochromatique’ you will have a sore neck and much love for these three talented Dutch lads. There’s the odd galactic sample thrown in which breaks things up and adds to the already exceedingly high level of entertainment.

Basically, if you like instrumental stoner rock and bands such as Karma to Burn, Atomic Bitchwax and Sardonis you are going to love The Cosmic Desert Cruise, it’s pretty much impossible not to. There’s even a cover of Karma to Burn’s ‘19’ to finish which is delivered with crisp perfection, this band are not taking themselves too seriously and not afraid to show off their roots. One of the best instrumental stoner rock debuts you will find and the best 4 Euro you will spend all year.

It took 38 seconds into the first song for me to hit the “download promo” button upon hearing Svart Crown’s Profane. I’ve never heard a note of from them before, nor had I ever heard the name. I hope this album changes that for a lot of people, as this album is high quality blackened death metal. I’ll get the comparisons right out of the way: If Behemoth and Gojira had a love child, it would be Svart Crown. And I’d adopt that evil little devil. Those two bands are both highly praised by many, so I believe it’s a compliment to be in their company.

After the intro, ‘Genesis Architect’ comes right in guns blazing! But even at their top speed, the riffs still seem to lock into a headbanging tempo. The guitars are ever moving to, never ones to settle in one spot for too long. Audible bass is always appreciated in my book, and the drums move swift and sound organic. ORGANIC. That is how I would describe the entire sound of this album. (100% Organic Blackened Death Metal! Only $9.99!). ‘Intern. Virus. Human.’ is no different that the previous track, moving quick and precise, with demonic vocals. Seeing this band live should be a treat, as vocalist JB Le Bail plays guitar also.

The real standout track on this album, to me, is ‘In Utero: A Place of Hatred and Threat’. Just read the damn title. Starting out with what sounds like a eerie guitar passage then sampled murder/beheading then crushing everything in sight, this song is the balls. Winding guitars are locked in with a galloping pace through most the song. There’s no real break in there, and for that I am grateful. Even when it feels like its all about to just fall the hell apart, Svart Crown pull it back in and harness the fury they own.

‘The Therapy of Flesh’ continues the rampage that is Profane, only slowing down in a spot or two to allow a little breather. Even when not blasting at 200 bpm+, Svart Crown still manage to sound on fire and punishing. ‘Ascetic Purification’ is a full two minutes of drum acrobatics (the good kind) and blasts, breathless vocals and chugging guitars. And I know it sounds odd to use the word “chugging” to describe a fast paced song, but it’s in there, trust me. You’d be hard pressed to figure out when ‘Ascetic Purification’ ends and album closer ‘Revalatio: Down Here Stillborn’ begins if you’re not paying attention.

The song differences are there yes, but the previous track ends on the note the later track begins. Either way, ‘Revalatio: Down Here Stillborn’ is a great way to end an album. Feeling like a release of all the emotions built up on the rest of the album, it is truly a standout album closer in my opinion. An ominous tone in the guitars and bass, drums beaten as if the drummer’s life depended on it and vocals that sound exhausted by the time the song finishes. I’ll chalk this album on my growing list of albums to remember in December.

Be sure to go out and pick up this album from Listenable Records on April 22nd in Europe and May 21st in the US. Svart Crown have made quite the album here, and I urge you to go pick it up the day it comes out. Support all the bands and artist you listen to and enjoy.

HAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's always a good way to grab my attention by name checking Spiritualized as an influence and Edinburgh 7-piece Delta Mainline would find it hard to describe their sound without mentioning them; the task of living up to the name check is altogether a different prospect. Spiritualized are one of my favourite bands. The good news is that Delta Mainline are destined to be included in that list too.

Oh! Enlightened is their debut album, recorded at Chem19 Studios by Davey McAuley (Mogwai) and features 10 tracks with a perfect balance of rock-n-roll chargers and epic slower tracks. The production is top notch and the playing is outstanding, these guys really do know how to make instruments work together, little embellishments of brass, the occasional, but unobtrusive strings and wondrous wall of sound percussion.

Settling down for my first listen (remember the high hopes I have from the aforementioned influence), opener 'Misinformation' goes for the jugular with its incessant driving rhythm, slide guitars and wailing harmonica. Repeated plays are necessary to increase the love for this one, don't let it be the only track you hear.

'Stop This Feeling' keeps up the high tempo, resplendent with the Spaceman's enticing c'mons. Then the early pace subsides, time for a remarkable comedown trilogy, 'Dead Beat Blues' has a sorrowful but uplifting undercurrent and for the first time, you get to hear inflections of Scotland in the sound. There's a section in this tune when funereal New Orleans brass appears, it's a hairs on the back of the neck moment. Bliss.

Another outstanding tune is 'The Church Is Up For Sale' which begins as a Jesus And Mary Chain ballad, all warm fuzzy chords and tambourines before erupting into an epic chorus/ad lib that I'd love to hear played live. A truly joyous moment on an album that astounds with every play.

'Florentine Regime' pulls off a neat two-songs-in-one trick, part one is a piano driven boogie-stomp, part two eases into a tremendously triumphant melodic section. The ultimate (penultimate) Spiritualized head nod comes in the form of 'Dark Energy', a six minute spacemanned-out trilogy of soundscapes. A lengthy proggy intro section passes into the song's main melody before ending in one of those riotous cacophonies where everything in the studio gets a hammering, so favoured by Jason Pierce. It's really well done, but maybe a little too much in the way of acknowledging your influence. But hey, Delta Mainline aren't the first act to replay another band's sound, they won't be the last. As a big fan of Spiritualized, I'd be the first in line to dissect and criticise, but when the playing is of such a high standard and the songs are as well written, I'm converted.

A few of my reviews to date have expressed the hope that we'd hear more from the band under scrutiny, I can say with absolute confidence that we will be hearing more from Delta Mainline in the future. An outstanding debut.

Regular readers (Hi Mum!) will know that I like to pepper my reviews with random things like 80s pop and cake and all that. Not here though. A record of this magnificence deserves an utterly “straight” review. So there will DEFINITELY be no mention of My Little Pony –sorry Ryan.

According the words that came with this release, Cultura Tres are “an avant-garde mix of seventies rock, doom, psychedelic metal and South American folk”. Yes, but also I must add to that list the phrase ‘creepy-as-hell… but in a good way’. On this, their fourth release Rezando Al Miedo, the Venezuelan 4 piece have created an darkly evocative soundscape that by parts leaves you exhilarated, unnerved and queasy. Mind you a having front man (Alejandro Londoño) who was a founding member of the pioneering Epitafio might well give you and indication of the pedigree this band has. But this is no one-man show. Much like the album itself, this band as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts….

I could go into specifics with regards to riffs and all that. But this is an album that is so much more than sentences like ‘the throat scraping vocals of Alejandro Londoño in ‘1492’ are wonderfully complimented by some frantic tom playing of drummer David Abbink’ and ‘with guitars so heavy and laden you’d think they were made of cement’ are all well and good but this is a work of art (yes, I said it) that is about the ENTIRE package; everything compliments each other to create a cohesive journey upon which the listener must go. You are challenged to explore dark recesses both musically and mentally.

Ominous bass chords, echoing jarring guitars, muted whispering and cries all guide you towards a brink…. only to let YOU decide whether to step over the edge. This is no better displayed than in the epic album closer ‘Forget I’m Here’. 20 minutes of glorious meandering through peaks and troughs that fill you with both hope and dread. Finishing this song, I was left with the same feeling I had (and still have) of the scene in The Neverending Story where Atreyu’s house, Artax, can no longer make his way through the Swamps of Sadness, one of the slowly ebbing away of resistance and the acceptance of what might be, no matter how painful or hard it is.

Look, I don’t want you to think that this is a record of depression and sadness. Far from it. It IS a challenging listen; it’s not an album for the stereo whilst you’re whipping up a Croquembouche, it’s a headphones album. It owes much of its construction to albums like Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. It’s an album that you have to give yourself to. Those thoughts you keep locked away, the fears that you bury deep within the doubts that echo….. those are what this album needs to make it reveal its true beauty. Challenge yourself, immerse yourself, and give everything you have to this album. The results are a record that you will connect with like no other.

Deuil: {n.} Bereavement, mourning, black.

"And the chanting shall bring forth the darkness, and the darkness shall envelop the mental landscape, cloaking all in black, until the end of days..."

Belgian band Deuil has created a record that is more a meditation on mourning (with a soundtrack) and less what is typically thought of as a "normal" release. Acceptance/Rebuild is a two track study in experimental Black Metal, with elements of sludge, drone, doom, and even shoegaze thrown in for good measure. The results are quite creepy, and just as successful.

The first epic track, 'Acceptance,' is 20 minutes long. It begins with dark chants. It gradually escalates to a mid-tempo gloom, introducing pounding drums, ragged vocals, and crushing guitars. It falls into a calm before the storm around the six-minute mark; a nice, lulling melody. Blast-beats follow; churning, twisting. Recorded samples create a sense of desolation. Guitars ring out; dissonant and haunting. It ends, leaving behind a feeling of relief... or an empty sadness.

The second track, 'Rebuild,' is half as long as the first, but just as epic. It too begins with chants. Guitars and feedback enter the mix, along with the pounding of drums. Dissonance yet again. It builds to a frenzy and the cycle starts anew. The vocals come in late, layered with a blast-beat. Another grimey success. Deuil's Acceptance/Rebuild is a very impressive self-released record. The effort alone is commendable. Everything was recorded live in the band's practice room by Mélan. So much energy and atmosphere was captured using this method. It was mixed and mastered by Trung. All in all, it is a very interesting—and quite cathartic—record by a few extremely talented Belgians. Find out for yourself. It's available now through the band themselves.

Deuil is vehemently opposed to NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal). They thought this fact was worth mentioning. I agree.

Album number 3 for mastermind Ola Englund’s brainchild Feared. Some of you may recognize Ola as a member of Six Feet Under. And while a fair amount of outsourcing was done on the most recent Six Feet Under album (reviewed here), Feared is Ola’s band where he is the only songwriter. Music and almost all the lyrics come from him. He is joined by vocalist Mario Ramos, and fellow Six Feet Under member/ drummer Kevin Talley for this album. So, let’s see what the Swede has done shall we…

A slow and short (but sweet) acoustic passage opens the album on ‘Live in You’. Then it’s off to the races with Talley dropping a roll, Mario screaming in pain and Ola playing some crushing guitars. His tone is rather nice too, not overly clean or dirty. Almost has what I would call a “dirge-y” sound to it. The drums are clear and the vocals are screamed with moderate clarity. The melodic break in 'Live in You' shows a gorgeous solo that flows and weaves its way around everything else. ‘Psycho Logic’ is a lesson in groove, well played, and all in a locked motion. A song you can bang your head too. Feared really keep this motive throughout most the record. Music that at times is overtly aggressive, and at times moderately clean, all mixed very well.

‘Satan’ has a nice chorus to it; oddly enough it has clean vocals in it (odd choice for a song called ‘Satan’). ‘Neverlasting’ is one of, if not the, most aggressive songs on the album. Starting out simple and eventually adding blast beats and overlapping string bends. The solo on this song is also very soaring as all the rest on the album. But it’s the later half of the solo that stands out as it’s played over a vengeful sounding rhythm. ‘Forever Old’ is a very up and down track, mixing emotions back and forth in the guitars and overall tone of the music. But there are a few subtle parts I didn’t hear on first listen, note bends and the like. Brief instrumental ‘End’ closes out the album as a guitarist's dream, smooth licks abound.

If I had one complaint about this album, it would be that the solos at times are almost too clean. I myself do enjoy clean guitar playing, but a solo (in my opinion, at least) needs to sound like it's about to fly off the damn hinges now and then. But, that is a minor gripe on a well written and executed album. You can find this album by going straight to the source, on the bands own website. Support musicians and artists you enjoy and believe in.

HAIL!!!

I'm not overly experienced in Estonia's music scene but I can say this. It has produced one almighty heavy doom band in Talbot. It's great reviewing stuff sent from large or popular record labels etc. However one of the reasons I do this is because of bands like Talbot. Completely self-funded and embracing the DIY ethic they have built up a healthy fan base through persistence and hard work. Not to mention their crushing but yet catchy music. They claim to be the loudest duo on the planet (and beyond!) and on this showing I'm not doubting them.

Comprised of Magnus Andre and Jarmo Nuutre they absolutely pummel you on opener 'Spectral Express' full of sprawling rhythm and dense heaviness, they do it with some catchy vocal passages that stick in the brain. Talbot's bio also has the wonderful description of "like being punched in the face by a mammoth" which I love.

'EgoMine' continues, mixing a prog feel with almost demonic vocals, its mind bendingly brilliant. Scaled continues to astound with 'Shadowbird' a twelve minute excursion into pounding doom and sludge filled brilliance. It builds gradually from dirge like opening into more expensive and experimental territory.

All six tracks on Scaled offer excellent listening and varying dynamics and I can't recommend it enough . I expect to hear a lot more from the doom duo and if you're into something a bit different don't hesitate.  Scaled is available both physically and digitally from their Bandcamp now. Get onto it!

RAWWWWWWWWWWWKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

That’s the first thing you’ll think when you unleash Deception’s debut EP Break The Silence. And you’d be bloody right too. The second thing you’d think is that the main riff of ‘Break The Silence’ bears just a teeny-tiny resemblance to that of ‘Fuel’ by Metallica. But that’s a minor quibble – shut up and turn it up you fool. Vocalist Daniel Färninger displaying an excellent set of pipes that can both be gravelly but still clear and at the drop of a hat going all Satan-y guttural on us. Nice. The track fairly motors along with its insistent snare and double bass drumming. Next thing you know you’re onto track 2…..

….which displays an ear for the melodic intro. In the vein of ‘Wasted Years' by Iron Maiden, Deception go all open-top-E-string on us on ‘Bury The Sinners’ with guitarists Peter Engström and Oscar Petterson complementing each other with some nice harmony lines that lead into a surprisingly melodic riff. But don’t let this make you think it’s all ponies and candyfloss here “It’s time for humanity to bury its sinners” intones the chorus. Before heading off into a twisty guitar solo and before you know it we’re nodding the head to track 3…..

….’Fragile’ which has the best riff on this EP. Don’t take my word for it. Listen:

It’s the kind of stomping chug that DEMANDS that you bang yer head and start doing one of those old school mosh pits. Just as he does in the previous two tracks, drummer Markus Norlén drives the track admirably with some very tasty footwork. In fact the rhythm section of Norlén and bassist Fredrik Färninger lock together tighter than my hand on a Mr Kipling’s Bakewell slice (which is BLOODY tight let me tell you). A mini guitar solo and then we’re running headlong into….

….the last track on the EP ‘Make A Deal With The Reaper’ by which time you’re looking at your music player and thinking “How is this the last song? I am nowhere near sated. MORE DAMN YOU. MOOOOOOOOOREEEEEEE” before then realising that you can simply hit the repeat button. Silly you. Also, I was brought up watching the Carry On films so I’ll admit to chuckling like a schoolboy at the line “Get down on your knee, make deals with the reaper”…. Not unless he buys me dinner first. Cheeky.

This is a stunning debut EP filled with riffs, speed and energy. It’s definitely worth keeping an eye on Deception, with the right management and PR they could make BIG waves in the metal world. Only one major complaint here – there is not enough here you swines. 4 tracks is just not enough! Get back in the studio and give me an album. Go on… shoooooo.

Pan American do soundscapes with ambient intrigue and varying percussive interest. This new album comes after their 2009 work, White Bird Release.

With Cloud Room, Glass Room think floating through another dimension or the sonic equivalent of stargazing. Ambient and soothing, don't fall into the trap believing everything is calm seas and hunky-dory. After the introductory track there is an eerie feeling created with atonal drones during ‘5^th Avenue’, giving a cinematic impression. This is almost like we really are in space and an uncertainty has crept in over the foreign planet.

The varying rhythmic elements keep the interest with Steven Hess now at the percussive helm. ‘Glass Room at the Airport’has drums that scatter and bounce in reverberant delay patterns. ‘Laurel South’uses a wonderful deep bass percussion rhythm, which leads unexpectedly into a dark ambient state with uneasy pitch tones and added percussive layers that builds to an intense anxiousness. 

This album has so much depth you could almost swing your legs and clamber into each layer of sound. But you don't need to put any effort in; you could just lie buoyant on the surface of the sound and then let it wash over you. Mark Nelson, Steven Hess and Pan American have created a delightfully ambient but interesting world we can sink into, shut out our troubles, and sail away to. That is, until you hit an iceberg, and the waves splash up, serves you right for being complacent...

Be sure to have your earphones on and be ready for some mind blowing: I Hear Sirens are back with a new EP after the superb Beyond the Sea, Beneath the Sky. Directly from Salt Lake City, Utah, I Hear Sirens are Daved Harris, Adrienne Robson, Eric Olofson and David Qualls: a 4 pieces instrumental post-rock band formed in the Fall of 2005 that blew minds with their first EP titled like the band name.

May 7th is the release date for their new five track EP, Between Consciousness And Sleep, and if you love post-rock like I do this EP will become your next addiction because it represents what post-rock music should be: you will feel the music, you will feel that music is a personal experience and the music itself will be what you would imagine it to be.

The album opens with the song that titled the EP, 'Between Consciousness And Sleep' and I think the title is perfect for this music. It starts slowly with a superb guitar because you are still sleeping; it’s a soft start that after few seconds leaves the scene to an explosion of vibrating and powerful music. Now you realize that you are not sleeping anymore but instead you are finally conscious about what post-rock is. Just a pause to let you feel the music and the story continues with an awesome voice that seems not to be of this world. It puts you in another dimension with the typical guitar of post-rock in the background. The travel is finished, now you really are in another place, you are on the horizon where swallows play with soft clouds and in the end the moon goes down to rest.

The story continues with the 5 minutes track 'Lights and Clockwork': sun raised and light is everywhere. You can explore the world around you walking on soft clouds and imagine fabulous creatures around you. The last minute and half has a faster rhythm: the guitar lines, the drum beats and the bass run increase bringing you in a vertigo and u cannot stop moving leaded by that rhythm. Each arrangement is masterfully constructed to let the listeners to write his own story.

Just after the first two tracks it’s quite evident that the EP must be listened to entirely so we won’t jump to another song but we’ll continue our trip towards 'Illuminating Frequencies'. I’ve always found the song titles from I Hear Sirens really original and somehow inspiring where that song will lead the listener. So this time we achieved the area of illuminated frequencies where there’s no more space for soft music. We already got our clockwork and we land in a vibrating island. In some parts this track led me to think about Explosions in The Sky, recognizing a similar way of layering instrument upon instrument and provoking emotions on emotions. For sure I Hear Sirens love that band as all real post rockers do.

The victory of the king arrives soon with 'Pyrrhic Victory': even in the most fabulous world of my trip I’ve never thought about mythological personages but this time the band itself chooses to put us in a battlefield. Not to affect your fantasy but because this song fits perfectly with a victory celebration. I love the way they choose to end this song.

The album closer 'I Am The Fading Sun' is a song filled with aching beauty with a short piano interlude that is so short but also so effective in breaking the rhythm and leaving it to restart few seconds later; it’s epic and it dissolves in a dreaming, melancholic and somber melody. And the listener now deserves a special gift: the vocal arrives despite post-rock music is most of the time fully instrumental and I Hear Sirens uses it wonderfully. Daved Harris should use it more often.

I Hear Sirens couldn't find a better way to end this EP, leaving you astonished, Between Consciousness and Sleeping.

This album is (honestly) a little bit terrifying. In order to be prepared for The Synthetic Dream Foundation you have to get into a fantasy frame of mind and think of scoring a deep underworld in a gaming adventure. Yet, even in this mindset, this music can only be described as a warped Evanescence drowned in 80s nostalgia.

The electronic drumkit and synthesised sounds underneath some classical vocals create the feeling of a cheesy power ballad. It is a lot to digest for an average musical palette; even for the extremely open-minded out there.

When you analyse the sound carefully, there is nothing original happening and there are standard 80s musical forms being used with repeated synth patterns, sustained synths and horn countermelodies, with the drumbeat driving the song. The vocals themselves are pretty average and overall the sound is pretty ugly on the ears.

The Synthetic Dream Foundation seem to offer an album that is purely a statement of personal expression and sadly, nothing else.

The Ocean along with the likes of Cult of Luna have become the flag bearers of post-metal. With a string of already excellent releases behind them they may just have topped them all with Pelagial. Okay so Precambrian is a bit of a classic but it's not fully representative of what The Ocean's sound is since Heliocentric/Anthropocentric.

Pelagial is the sound of a band fully at the top of their game. Initially devised and written as an instrumental album due to singer  Loïc Rossetti taking ill. Pelagial is a single body of work, flowing together effortlessly. After Loïc had recovered it was decided he had to be involved, so it now is released in both vocal and instrumental versions. Double the pleasure for us as either way it's a remarkable album. Personally I enjoy the full experience of the vocal  version and will focus on it for this review, but it's relevant to either.

I've mentioned Pelagial was written as one single piece of music and essentially it is. Although, there are physical markers and track names, it all flows together. Melodies and riffs also reappear throughout the course of the 53 minute running time. Though these are subtle and more noticeable when fully immersed in the albums brilliance.

What stands The Ocean apart from others is their blending of melodic progressiveness and post-metal heaviness. Pelagial begins in more melodic style and if you think of the theme of the album gets darker and heavier the further you go into it.

When I received the album I had only a brief understanding of the concept but was eager to listen to the music. So it's testament to the quality I've subconsciously absorbed what I think they had hoped to achieve when writing. Pelagial is in the truest sense a journey, the theme of the album takes you from calm surface like serenity to being plunged in darkness weighed by pressure. Along the way you experience different levels of melody, emotion and heaviness. Like the various depths if the ocean itself, riffs pull and weigh you down. At other times melodic flourishes, feel like the beauty and otherworldly environment that lies under the surface. It honestly is represented in the music and translates while listening which can't always be said of concepts. Due to other commitments I've been listening mostly in my car on route to work. Usually when reviewing, I do so with headphones and little distraction. The fact that Pelagial has impacted strongly on me musically and conceptually is a further achievement of its greatness. Although when I've had the chance I have also experienced it headphones on late at night.

The Ocean have produced probably their most cohesive and accomplished work here. Despite it being intended as a whole piece, any of the tracks could be taken individually and marveled at. It works best though from start to finish. Such is the strength of Pelagial I'm not going to single out tracks, or moments for praise. For a start there are too many to list, instead I urge you to take the journey with them. The Ocean have delivered a  concept that is a metaphorical one, the themes, feelings and emotions felt listening can be attached to various facets of life. Either way its an experience I will be taking time and again due to the music and delivery.

Pelagial is destined to be one of the year's best releases. With a standard double album and expanded special edition with extra artwork and accompanying film available it makes it an essential purchase either way. The Ocean is released through Pelagic Records and Metal Blade Records on April 29th (EU) and 30th (US).

For those who are interested, read our interview with Robin Staps here.