Review Summary: Intense and....uh, well, that's about it.
Before I start, I need to say something. People irrationally “hate” deathcore. This style of music is fast, and intense. Naturally, even good bands will get old and stale after awhile. But, to people who are constantly dissing on this type of music, I say you’ve done this to yourself. Immersing yourself in little musical variety will make you jaded with new bands who aren’t really trying anything super innovative, even if the music is pretty good. I say, go listen to something different, and keep a more open mind. If you don’t want fast and intense, go listen to something else.
Oceano hasn’t been around for that long. They started in Chicago, Illinois in 2006. People constantly try to correct me when I mention this band by asking “do you mean Oceana (which is a terrible, terrible band btw)?” “Depths” has been out for almost a year now. Let me tell you all, I have gone through a lot of phases in regards to this album and this band. The first song I ever heard from this band was “District of Misery.” My first impressions of this band were: the drummer is good, the song actually has some atmosphere (which is rare in deathcore), and the vocalist is pretty talented. From that point on, I eagerly awaited their album to drop. When it did, I put it on my iPod, sat on my bed, and just listened.
“Descent” is the album’s intro. Intros are becoming overused, and this one didn’t really impress me. Some intros like “Revelations” by Suicide Silence or “Necrotizing” by Whitechapel are instantly recognizable to me, and definitely get me pumped for what’s to come. That wasn’t the case with “Descent.” However, this song does sound sick in a car with a good sound system. “Inhuman Affliction” is the first real song on the record. It has a good mix of everything: decent riffing, good vocals, a 2-step part, and a big breakdown at the end. Don’t get me wrong, Oceano doesn’t do anything original. However, they do deathcore pretty well. If they didn’t, they would not be signed, touring constantly, and recording their newest album with Zuess.
“A Mandatory Sacrifice” is next. This is one of the more heavily known songs from “Depths.” A video was shot for it, and it is always played in their live set. This song is catchy. There is another long, big, slow breakdown at the end. This song has great atmosphere. It’s an above average song, and there is above average riffing on it. “Samael the Destroyer” is 4th. This song is mediocre in every sense of the word. One of the album’s big misses; I skip over it every time. There is nothing interesting on this song. Go listen to it now, and you’ll see what I mean. “Fractured Frames, Scattered Flesh” is metal as ***. It’s super fast, and has great emotion behind it, especially on the vocal side of things. The drumming is great on this song, and it’s hard to not headbang at the end of this song. It’s one of the album’s high points. “Disgust For Your Kind” is fast. This song is also high on the intensity scale, and has a good flavor. By this point, you may have noticed that this band ends almost every song with a breakdown. It’s repetitive, and I hope they try something different next album.
“Depths” is next. It’s an instrumental. They overuse the guitar parts over and over and over. However, it’s pretty melodic, and gives the album a good ingredient halfway through the album. “District of Misery” is next. Great drumming litters this song. The vocals are especially fast and hard hitting. Like I said earlier, there is good atmosphere to the song, and it’s above average. “With Legions” is next. So many heavy bands use the word “Legion” in their songs. It’s annoying. However, this song is above average in every sense of the word. It has a good, epic feel to it. “Slaughtered Like Swine” is next. If you instantly didn’t hate the title, then this song is for you. This song is so pissed. To me, it is a great example of a heavy band doing something right. This song just doesn’t let up. “Empathy For Leviathan” is more of the same: fast, breakdowns, good vocals. “Plague Campaign” isn’t too interesting, and one of the album’s misses. “Abysm” is a good and eerie way to go out. It’s an instrumental, and has some sick soloing in the background.
Oceano has potential. “Depths” is a good debut album, even though it doesn’t really set the band apart from other bands. However, they are insanely young, and rarely does a band develop a distinct sound on their first record. Their drummer is very good (see them live), their vocalist is good, and Andrew (guitarist) knows how to decently play his instrument. Let’s just hope Oceano steps it up next time around.
Pros:
Great drumming
Good production
Good vocals
Cons:
Drums are completely programmed (fills are copied and pasted, but hey it’s Joey Strugis)
Way too over produced in some parts
Very repetitive if deathcore is all you listen to
