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Review: and Oceans - The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts
and Oceans
www.facebook.com/andoceans
The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts

Label: Season of Mist
Year released: 1998
Duration: 48:31
Tracks: 8
Genre: Black Metal

Rating:
5/5


Review online: February 14, 2020
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
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Rated 5/5 (100%) (2 Votes)
Review

...and Oceans last album, Cyber, goes all the way back to 2002 and they recently released a new song that sounds promising. The band went a little off the rails with A.M.G.O.D. and Cyber (I don't know what it was with Scandinavian black metallers and electro back then), so I'm curious to see what kind of mix they're going to come up with this time around. All this to say, this new song reminded me that I hadn't listened to the band in a very long time and I decided to pay their debut a visit. Unfortunately for more recent albums that I should be reviewing, The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts has almost monopolized my playlist since...

I'm almost tempted to say that this almost mixes all—at least several—styles of black metal of the time in one album, which in theory sounds like a disaster in the making, but ...and Oceans really succeeded at blending a wide range of music, atmosphere and emotions into something coherent and certainly addictive. Keyboards are used extensively but tastefully, sometimes amplifying soothing melodies, sometimes bringing more dread and despair and even a bit of creepiness. The vocals are basically black metal rasps and they steered clear of clean vocals, which only became more common in the genre a few years later. Influences here are taken from across the black metal realm of the time, with symphonic vibes playing side by side with more rocking vibes and, of course, the raw '90s black metal parts that give the album just enough "unpolish" to keep things real.

I don't think ...and Oceans topped this with the follow-up album, though it was arguable the closest one as the later A.M.G.O.D. And Cyber went more experimental, electro and, with Cyber, flirting with a more commercial sound that some otherwise good bands tried at the time. Whatever they come up with next, there will always be this excellent debut album to fall back to for a nice dose of very diverse black metal.

More about and Oceans...
Review: A.M.G.O.D. (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: As in Gardens, So in Tombs (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Cosmic World Mother (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: Cypher (reviewed by Christian Renner)
Interview with Neptune (guitar) on April 28, 2001 (Interviewed by Paul O'Ceannig)
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