Review : OCEANO – “Depths”

Oceano – “Depths”
released April 14, 2009 by Earache

They claim to be “the heaviest, most pissed off band on the planet.” I don’t know how you quantify ‘pissed-off-ness,’ but they are one of the most physically imposing bands I’ve seen since Crowbar (bassist Jason Jones is the one skinny dude). Does the deathcore quintet measure up to not only that, but the exhaustive 11-part allegorical definition of ‘depth’ in the liner notes? No, and there isn’t a band that does. The Chicago natives do branch out from the trunk a bit, incorporating keyboards (9) and some damn fine song structures (4) when pouring on the sludge and driving you through the grind. But ultimately it’s mostly single-serving heaviness, and now that they have an established base (albeit amidst controversial promo photography and live show antics), their charge will be to distinguish themselves from like-minded folks such as Suicide Silence and Whitechapel. The limited edition comes with two bonus tracks and a documentary DVD.

1 is an intro
FCC OK
Try 4, 5, 9, 10

01. Descent
02. Inhuman Affliction
03. Empathy For Leviathan
04. Plague Campaign
05. Fractured Frames, Scattered Flesh
06. Disgust For Your Kind
07. Depths
08. District Of Misery
09. With Legions
10. Slaughtered Like Swine
11. A Mandatory Sacrifice
12. Samael The Destroyer
13. Abysm

Rating:  

~ Matt Longo