We've been half-way across the globe already; so we prepare ourselves to project into the stars with my #8 pick...or is that picks?
#8
The Ocean - Heliocentric & Anthropocentric
I know, these are physically two albums; but in my view, selling them as such is like offering a car only to charge the exact same sum again for the keys. It is a double record and should be treated as such, much like Therion's Lemuria/Sirius B or Opeth's Deliverance/Damnation binaries. One simply cannot exist without the other.
Thus for 1hr and 40sec we thoroughly explore the fringes of science, philosophy and our understanding of the cosmos throughout the ages. Recorded in seclusion in the Swiss alps, the records form their scathing criticism of Christian fundamentalism.
Replete with sprawling, Herculean and delicate guitars they forge into the psyche of men in their gormlessness and grandeur. Jazzy textures, freewheeling horns and woodwind, Baroque piano interplay and undulating strings are performed with as much aplomb as their crushing guitar riffs and cage-rattling drum fills. For example, in the Heliocentric track Ptolemy was Wrong baritone extraordinaire Loïc Rossetti dramatically laments his realization that the Earth orbits the sun - a soulful piano dirge accompanies his passionate outcry.
I genuinely felt for the resonant Mr. Rossetti, the pain in knowing his character can never tell anyone in fear of persecution - much like Jean Valjean's "Who Am I?" lament in Les Miserables. As the facade of human irrationality peels away, the music really imbues that feeling of enlightenment which is a feat in and of itself, all the while exploding with polyrhythmic jam-style fury and colorful harmony.
I genuinely felt for the resonant Mr. Rossetti, the pain in knowing his character can never tell anyone in fear of persecution - much like Jean Valjean's "Who Am I?" lament in Les Miserables. As the facade of human irrationality peels away, the music really imbues that feeling of enlightenment which is a feat in and of itself, all the while exploding with polyrhythmic jam-style fury and colorful harmony.
Even his brutal vocals are to be commended especially in the weightier and punchier Anthropocentric, as is the warm and layered production that binds together a collective of eight highly talented musicians. Much like the Orphaned Land record that came in at #10, its depth is almost fathomless and requires careful attention, although individual tracks taken out of context are quite capable of holding their own.
Much like Between the Buried and Me, The Ocean are certainly poised to write the next chapter of forward-thinking progressive metal history with this stellar effort - a real piece of metal art!
The Top 10