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The Ocean – Fogdiver
September 1st, 2003
Progressive Metal / Post Metal
Make My Day
Berlin, Germany
The Ocean, or The Ocean Collective as they are sometimes known, have been around the block for quite some time. Active since 2000 the band, which originally started as a four piece, has since ballooned to include a six member lineup. While their modern output is indeed progressive and full of post metal leanings that hearken to other atmospheric sludge groups like their contemporaries in Isis and Neurosis, the band actually started out as an instrumental outfit with their first album Fogdiver. This month on Discography Deep Dive we’re delving into the catalog of this German monolith, starting with this half hour debut of smooth grooves and Neptunic tunes.
It’s a bit strange, admittedly, to head back this far into The Ocean’s past. Given how recognizable their vocals are on the band’s modern output, hearing the group do nothing but play their instruments on this album feels odd. The first time I went through this record upon revisiting it I kept waiting for the vocals to kick in, forgetting multiple times that I was here to only listen to the instrumental side of things. Upon subsequent listens I found myself getting more used to the idea, and wound up enjoying this album plenty for what it was.
Fogdiver certainly has a lot of variety in its comparatively short run time. The first track, which is the title track of the record, embraces heavy, crushing riffage that brings to mind comparisons to Mastodon’s early work as well as some of the noisier metalcore bands of the late 90’s, especially a group like Cave In. Surprisingly the riffs even dig partially into thrash metal at some point. Coming to the following track, “Endusers”, we’re treaty to a proggier offering that feels spacious and weird, reminding me of the work of a band like Intronaut, who themselves were no doubt inspired The Ocean. We then come to “The Melancholy Epidemic” which has a semi-industrial vibe to parts of the song, melding their own sound with that of Devin Townsend, particularly on the Ocean Machine: Biomech album.
Jonathan Heine and Robin Staps come together on the bass and guitar respectively here to create some truly creative and bizarre riffage at times. While the album’s guitar work is at times rather conventional for heavy music, especially that of the progressive metal and sludge world of the time, there are plenty of guitar passages that feel unique to this band’s take on the genre, despite how new they were to the world at the time. Songs like “Isla de la Luna” have a lot of strange guitar moments that sound both nautical and mechanical, fusing the aesthetics of modern industrial technology with the unrelenting power of the sea.
Torge Liessmann and Gerd Kornmann on drums and additional percussion provide the percussive backbone on this album, and can easily hold their own with some of the best drummers that modern metal had to offer in the early 2000’s. This album is full of passages of rhythmic terror that do their best to emulate the crushing depths of the abyssal plane while also interjecting plenty of quieter moments that serve the pelagic atmosphere of the record. Busy tom and snare rolls fill up the percussive side of things, joining the frenetic and heavy riffing in harmony to create a sound that is somehow both chaotic and incredibly well organized.
The production here is excellent too. The guitars are loud and in your face but sound surprisingly organic considering the proclivity for progressive metal bands to embrace the squeaky clean side of heavy music production. I like that I can hear every little thing the guitars are doing and that it doesn’t so polished. I also appreciate just how present and thick the bass is in the overall mix. There are a lot of syncopated, start-stop riffs from the bass on here and the fact that its so up front in the mix really does wonders for the overall sound of the album. The drums similarly don’t feel like they’re overpowering anything but are crisp and clear while maintaining an aura of authenticity.
To some this may be The Ocean’s weakest record, especially in a discography that has since grown to be rather expansive and contain some albums that are considered among the best in terms of modern progressive metal. That being said I think you could do a lot worse than this debut. As far as instrumental progressive sludge metal goes, this album absolutely rules. It has tons of awesome riffs, intricate and stellar songwriting, and a hefty amount of creativity that does a lot to enforce the themes behind the band’s name. It’s a sonic representation of the ocean and its vast chasms and unreachable depths. Its exactly what the band set out to achieve and they certainly accomplished it on Fogdiver.
Final Verdict: 8/10
Great
Favourite Tracks:
“Fogdiver”
“The Melancholy Epidemic”
“Isla de la Luna”
“The Long Road to Nha Trang”
~ Akhenaten