Oceanic by Isis

2002 / Hydrahead Records

I bought this in the punk section.

People call it the new breed of hardcore.

To me this is essentially a trippy album. This takes you out by the headphones in a wall of sound. Oceanic has some kind of rhythm play that gradually comes to attention. I recall my sister’s old New Order records or some 4AD shoegazer band where the bass lines fashion a wavering melody amid the ornamentation. Its like a candle flame flickering in the wind. And then I am reminded of Opeth because of the hardcore yells and heaviness. This album does crash and bash in a rolling might.

Some people call this heavy metal.

But I am reminded mostly of the regular patterns that Opeth usually spins. Oceanic does seem to flow in such a manner. - A dense barrage of METAL here - a dense barrage of METAL there - But the music of Oceanic shifts like the tide in gradual levels of ecstasy. HIGH low HIGH low HIGH HIGH low low... mostly HIGH but you get the picture.

score 3.5 out of 5