June 2020 Feature Release - The Sphere Edition

It's now June which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter.   

This month's feature release for The Sphere is 2001's third album from Finnish cyber black metallers ...And Oceans entitled "A.M. G.O.D.". This release saw the band moving away from their traditional black metal roots into much more ambitious industrial places & we're keen to hear if you think they were successful or not.

https://metal.academy/releases/4292

This is my first experience with ...And Oceans and I like most of what I hear. Actually, my immediate reaction wasn't good: I found the main part of the opening track to be pretty awful, and I wondered if I'd be able to sit through the whole thing. Once I got past that track, the second one was more listenable, the third track won me over, and the next four tracks kept me hooked.  So from what I gather ...And Oceans added synth/industrial stylings on  this record that they never utilized before.  Were they successful? Short answer yes, long answer yes but they should have trimmed some of the fat. Going back to that first track that I couldn't into ("Intelligence is Sexy"), I just think they tried too hard to do an expository number that shoved in your face that they were mixing synth with brutal metal. I find it listenable now, but I still think it's kind of hack. But nevermind that and the second track (which is okay), because the record kicks ass from there on. "Tears Have No Name," begins with a synth part and then has the metal play along with it, rather than having synth layered on top of a metal riff. They take both approaches on the album, but I think I prefer the former. Make no mistake, this is metal, as opposed to more aggro industrial, but having the synth backbone gives the parts a lot of character and flavor. There are parts where the synth is more subtle, and those parts are pretty good too, but they can can handle metal just fine without it. "Esprit De Corps" only has about four seconds of synth before going raging thrash, but the track kills so who cares. My guess is it was written before they changed styles I also want to point out that recording and mix are crystal clear, which adds to the experience a lot. I prefer my Black Metal a bit more on the dirty side, but I'm glad they went all out with the mix, having the synth loud, clear and all over the place in the stereo spectrum. And despite what I just said, the main Black Metal riff on "Odious And Devious" works on a different level here than it would on a trad BM record, because of what it's contrasted with. I'm anxious to delve their next release, because while I like "A.M. God," it is clear they were new to blending they styles together (although usually pretty damn well),  and I'm curious to see how they advance in that department. One last thing, I don't think the last track - the EDM (I think) "New Model World" - is pointless, especially since the preceding track works so well as a closer.   

This is also my first time hearing ...And Oceans and it's very interesting hearing Cyber/Industrial from a band that started with Black Metal rather than something more groove oriented like most Industrial bands. While there are some great riffs on "Tears Have No Name" and "Of Devilish Tongues", the rest falls into this cool but sometimes awkward atmospheric Black Metal tremolo riffing that has limited substance but plays off the electronic tidbits well enough. The addition of the synth/cyber elements does add some much needed spice and Identity to A.M. G.O.D. rather than feeling like an afterthought, which is always appreciated. The dance beat on "White Synthetic Noise" is a bit out of nowhere, but the way they crescendo out of it is pretty incredible, and the rest of the electronic beats fit in well with the chaos of the Black Metal riffing.

The album is pretty all over the place though, with tons of different influences and riffing styles flying right and left until they decide to stick to one for a few minutes. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, it just makes for a more confusing experience when listening to the album cover to cover. Even though this is a Black Metal album with enough electronic elements to call it Cyber Metal, it really did feel like there was just a bit too much bland and generic Black Metal stuff going on for me to really get excited about this one in the end. It certainly has its moments, but to me this is another Black Metal album that decided to add something to sort-of-kind-of-but-not-really change up its formula. I'd have to listen to it a few more times in order to get a full review written, but for now:

3.5/5