THE OCEAN

Phanerozoic I: Paleozoic

METAL BLADE German post-metal geologists arrive at the onset of extinction Despite their ever-revolving door of musicians, ‘musical collective’ The Ocean have become a post-metal cornerstone, not only for their solid output but for the success of their label, Pelagic records. Their eighth album,

Phanerozoic I, to be joined by Phanerozoic II in 2020, continues their tradition of providing an expansive soundtrack to our planet’s formative years. Cambrian II is explosive, with soaring harmonies softening the blow. Ordovicium is similarly raging, before Silurian begins a more experimental second half, closing with Permian:

The Great Dying – an ode to extinction. The bugbear is that their music is evolving as slowly as the billions of years it’s inspired by – consistent in quality, but consistently similar. The Ocean are at times more compelling conceptually than they are musically.