...And Oceans

[Reign in Acai]

O.k I just got done listening to two tracks by this band "Odious and Devious" & "Aphelion (Something or other). I found it quite interesting...Techno keyboarding and all. What album does everyone feel would be the best one to pick up to catch the bands overall sound? Metal-archives.com had alot of mixed reviews for their last album cypher. And the other albums are lacking in the review dept. Any help would certainly be appreciated!

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I reviewed The Symmetry of I, The Circle of O for 90%. Classic classic CLASSIC symphonic black album, that is overlooked by many because they were put off by what ...aO's new sound managed to do.

Overall ...aO used to be far far better, but A.M.G.O.D. and Cypher are tolerable.

 

[no country for old wainds]

Let's just wait for anonymousnick to orgasm all over this thread.

For an accessible 'symphonic BM' band, ...And Oceans are pretty good. I'm not a fan though.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Have you heard their first two albums? Out of curiosity...

Because everyone that I've talked to just says they suck because all they heard were the bad and incredibly pretentious songs on Cypher.

 

[no country for old wainds]

I've heard The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts. I understand the appeal, it's just a bit too glossy for me.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I understand how you feel. It's practically not even black metal, but it has some elements.

Some of the parts are so fantastic at creating emotion, though, it's really great.

 

[Nico]

Been meaning to check them out for months. I'll do that now actualy.

 

[ShadowOfDeath]

O.k I just got done listening to two tracks by this band "Odious and Devious" & "Aphelion (Something or other). I found it quite interesting...Techno keyboarding and all. What album does everyone feel would be the best one to pick up to catch the bands overall sound? Metal-archives.com had alot of mixed reviews for their last album cypher. And the other albums are lacking in the review dept. Any help would certainly be appreciated!

...And Oceans is pretty cool. Pick up "The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts"

 

[None_So_Vile]

The Symmetry of I, The Circle of O

 

[Erik]

I have the demo "Mare Liberum" (which contains early versions of 4 tracks that would end up on "Dynamic...",) "Symmetry of I" and "AMGOD". "AMGOD" is not that great. Bought it because it was really cheap. I liked it at first but it very quickly lost appeal. "Symmetry of I" is more appealing stylistically but so far most of the songs don't really capture me. It's very OK though and I will try harder to like it sometime. The best thing they've done is "Trollfan" off the debut, he he.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Trollfan is absolutely excellent. You should get The Dynamic Gallery.

 

[J.]

AMGOD and Cypher are not good. At all.

Dynamic Gallery is their best, with Trollfan being their best song (like others said).

 

[anonymousnick2001]

Let's just wait for anonymousnick to orgasm all over this thread.

SPLURT!

I fucking love this band! I agree, Cypher was lacking in its overpretentiousness, but The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts is an amazing symphonic black metal album. Although the band themselves claim not to be black metal, their sound back then could be classified as such. Symmetry of I, Circle of O is another great album. They both come together in a two-pack now. A.M.G.O.D. is pretty good, too IMO but only because I'm a big fan of techno and electronica, and they fuse it pretty well into their black metal template. What you end up getting is an album with plenty of black blasting and keyboard washes as well as these catchy electronic melodies and breakbeat sections that mix pretty well with the music. I recommend those three albums, and if you can track down their demos, those should prove an interesting listen. You'll have to ask Erik about those, though.

 

[Erik]

You'll have to ask Erik about those, though.

I only have the last one, "Mare Liberum", which presumably was the one that got them signed. It contains "Trollfan," "September," "Uråldrig Saga och Sång" and "Som Öppna Böcker," all of which would later appear on the debut album. They sound pretty much the same too, with pretty good sound quality for a demo tape.

VVVVV: I do intend to pick it up if I find it cheap/used. It's not exactly a priority, but I'm aware that it is a quality album that I would probably enjoy to some extent.