PHANEROZOIC II: MESOZOIC | CENOZOIC

I really didn't like this one at first, but it grew on me at a dramatic rate - perhaps it's the slightly off-kilter opening track that sets a strange mood, but honestly this is a bit of a strange album. Post-metal, particularly the sludge variant, isn't known to do much experimentation, and I think that's where The Ocean have really started standing out from the pack. They've always had prog flirtations, but here they really start to break down genre norms. Like on Phanerozoic I, there's a really interesting focus on synthesiser work here, and they steal the show in half the tracks here - even veering fully into pseudo-synthpop vibes on the closing track. And it's not just experimentation on the soft side - the inclusion of some bursts of black metal are really interesting and really welcome in a genre that often needs that kind of harmonic complexity. It's not quite got the substance to top their best work, but it's arguably their most creative album and proves that they've still got a lot to say.

7.7 (5th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

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