The Ocean The Sky – Seasons
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Australian bands are awesome. To this day I’ve only heard one or two Australian bands that I didn’t like, out of many (not counting Parkway Drive for Deep Blue (which sucked) because they made some really good stuff earlier). But hey, that kind of streak can’t go on forever, can it?
The Ocean The Sky are pretty much the average metalcore band. Period. I do however keep the fact that they’re a fairly new band in mind. There are some minor hooks here and there, but all-in-all it’s sadly pretty dull. I’ve noticed that a lot of Australian post-hardcore and metalcore bands tend to use electronics…in a really awesome way. It’s not there just because; it’s there with feeling and purpose. Other Australian bands that adeptly use electronics are House vs. Hurricane and Sienna Skies – and I’ll be adding The Ocean The Sky to this list now.
For some reason I find the longest songs of the album, “Follow Me To Salvation” and “Our Days Are Numbered”, ranging six minutes eighteen seconds and five minutes eighteen seconds respectively, the most interesting. In albums where songs are on average of three to four minutes in length, the long ones are usually the most boring and stretched out, but on Seasons that isn’t the case.
First and foremost, the intro of “Follow Me To Salvation” caught my attention right away. I’m a sucker for melodic riffing and picking in the background (often utilized (past tense) by one of my favorite bands, Oceana) so the intro couldn’t be any better. Analyzing the track further shed some light on why I feel this album is so inanimate – I don’t feel the vocals. It’s hard to explain, to be honest…but the screams, mostly the lows, feel dull and unrefined. But while the screams feel insufficient, the clean vocals satisfy me entirely. Musically, they remind me of Oceana’s The Tide, using similar riffing and builds which is a big plus.
Seasons is an album which may serve well when listening to it, but there’s nothing that really amazes you and makes you remember it for your next listen. I do see potential in this band, there’s no question about it; and I think that this album was a decent start for The Ocean The Sky. With a little more time under their belts they’ll most likely come up with something really good.
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15 Comments
August 29th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Oh yes. Many great Aussie bands out there. Lots better than these guys. Parkway Drive, Hands Like Houses, to name just a couple.
I listened to this album a while back. It just feels uninspired to me.
Good review.
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Max Grundström replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 2:33 am
Haven't heard about Hands Like Houses, gonna have to give them a listen.
Thanks for the feedback!
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AustinW replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Hands Like Houses are heavy but don't scream. It's an interesting sound. They have an EP due out sometime this fall.
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Max Grundström replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Sounds cool. Kinda like I Am Abomination then. The one song except the acoustic one they have on their Myspace very much remind me of IAA.
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AustinW replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
I love it. They actually have breakdowns. Which is something IAA doesn't really do. I'm a fan. I just wish they had more songs.
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August 29th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Nice Review dude. Disagree with you about Deep Blue, their best album to date imho =]
[Reply to this comment]
Max Grundström replied:
August 30th, 2010 at 2:36 am
Thanks! It seems Deep Blue is black or white with most people. I think it's biggest disappointment of the year, while many other think it's the best album of the year. But, good thing we all have different opinions on what's good.
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August 30th, 2010 at 12:25 am
The Ocean……The Sky….. Never heard I will stick with just "The Ocean" for now. New concept record should be interesting, can't wait!
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August 30th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Excited! I really love australian bands!My fav so far is The amity Affliction,cuz they're awesome.This sounds pretty good also =)
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August 30th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
From the samples, they just sound a bit too generic imo.
Kudos for mentioning Oceana though! Although I'm afraid to say The Tide wasn't my favorite from them, I liked Birth.Eater and Clean Head much, much more.
And I agree with Marcos, The Amity Affliciton is pretty awesome. Anyone out there listen to The Red Shore? Their new release looks cool judging the samples from their myspace…
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Max Grundström replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 3:02 am
The samples were pretty bad to be honest, haha. Try listening to their Myspace songs and see what you think.
Well, they've changed style significantly throughout all their albums, it's a matter of taste which ones you like. I hate Clean Head but love the two others.
Haven't listened much to either of them, so I'm gonna do that!
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Jen replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 9:36 am
That's why you have the option to tell me what songs you'd like as clips. I don't listen to every album we post a review on, so I have no idea what to use. If you don't tell me what songs to use, you can't really complain.
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Max Grundström replied:
August 31st, 2010 at 9:43 am
Not complaining about that, it's just that the samples haven't picked out the good parts in the songs. You picked two of the songs that I liked and mentioned in the review – I don't see why I would complain about that?
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September 4th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Not really feeling this one like I thought I would. These dudes have some potential, but they need to focus and hone it in before the next record. With so many bands out there (right now) doing this exact thing, it will be very difficult to make the slightest of an impact with an album of this caliber. Great Job Max!
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Max Grundström replied:
September 4th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I agree with every single thing you say. Couldn't have said it better myself!
Thanks Lee!
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