Progressive metal is a genre that can be hard to get into at first but once it clicks, it's a damn good style of music to get into. The Ocean who hail from Germany are one of those bands that not only put a lot of effort into composing music that can be quite technical and non-conventional but they also have a huge focus on bringing those songs into a live setting that is not only musically satisfying but visually pleasing as well, as we found out in Perth on Sunday night.
Opening the night were local deathcore/groove based metal band Iconoclast who were probably the heaviest thing to be heard on the night so the bar was set fairly high early on for the following bands. The groove aspect of Iconoclast is their most appealing factor as the band proceeded to push forward with their brand of brutal riffage. A good start to the night for sure.
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Next up, Chaos Divine. A staple in big shows in the Perth metal scene and their blend of strong melody mixed with heavy riffs is a big reason this band has made a substantial name for themselves in Perth and around Australia. Having seen them several times over the years, there was nothing here that surprised me when the crowd showed their appreciation for this band on the night. Always a pleasure to see!
The Ocean were up next to conclude the night and by stage time, the crowd was fairly packed in the tiny stage area at Amplifier Bar. The final show in Australia on the tour, the band launched into the by now already well known "Pelagial" album in it's entirety. A concept album based on the many levels of the ocean's mystery and depth, it is a fairly epic album that must take a lot of energy and focus to reproduce in a live setting. As an added bonus, the show came with a full video screen which featured the DVD bonus footage from the album which displays a woman who represents the lyrical content of the songs. Visually the show was stunning, musically the band were on fire, going through the entire album flawlessly even with a minor setback in a technical problem with an amplifier early on in the set which halted the show for only a few minutes. Back on track quickly though, it was truly a massive undertaking for the band to be performing all of these tracks and the crowd loved every minute of it.
The album end sparked a break before the encore part of the set, with a few tracks from 2010's "Heliocentric " album amongst other things. Personally speaking, these tracks were even better than the "Pelagial" songs with a more groove and heavier factor involved. Still, all in all it was a damn good show by a band who are surprisingly not as big as they should be. We look forward to their return for sure!
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Review by Andrew "Schizodeluxe" Massie
