Black Metal History Month - ...And Oceans : "The Regeneration Itinerary"

 

The Grandiose progressive black metallers are back, this time the Finnish band continues to blend its electronic side with the black metal core of the band in a more balanced manner. The snarl of the vocals sometimes gets a robotic sheen of effects layered over them, and the synths are often at the forefront of the song, but the mood remains dark in its dystopian vision. They bring a tremolo buzz of guitars to songs like "Fornyelse i Tre Akter", this menace is tempered with superior production to give this music the cinematic magnitude of sound it deserves. Not unlike Dimmu Borgir in many ways, they are not as symphonic. My only mild complaint is the drums could have been given more thunder in the mix, but there is a great deal competing for room in the mix. 

There is a somewhat more straightforward metallic charge to "Chromium Lungs, Bronze Optics". The symphonic synth background creates the needed mood for the vocals to roar against. Symphonic leaning metal is not something I am into, Dimmu is a noted exception to this rule and these guys can be added to the list. They do not allow it to turn things into an anime soundtrack, keeping a dark and heavy pulse. "the Form and the Formless" has a little more pomp and circumstance, but also a dash of death metal aggression, though the melody holds a powerful sway in the music. Things are marginally brighter here, and while it works there is such a delicate balance that must be kept here to avoid going in a Nightwish direction. 

Lyrically the vocals are at such a roar, that they just feel like another layer to the sound rather than crafting the narrative to the story being told here. "Prophetical Mercury Implement" kind of breezes past me. The drive of "The Fire In Which We Burn" anchors it more than the previous song to create a more head-banging vibe. Though things ebb back to a more conventional metal sonic ground for "Waves of Sulphur". I like the darker turn they take on "I am Coin, I am Two".  They do offer an effective heavier dynamic to offset this. They revert back to the more ambiguous metal barrage for "Towards the Absence of Light" which feels more middle of the road, whereas their more blackened sound on "The Terminal Filter" proves to be more effective. This also proves they do not need to tame down their more orchestrated section to provide and aggressive enough sound to satisfy black metal fans. There are also two bonus tracks but for the purpose of this review I will kept things to normal album tracks, In doing so I will give this album a 9, as they prove themselves to be gifted at doing what they do. Fans of this band should rejoice despite this not being a return to pure black metal it's a step in that direction that is close enough.