GUILTY PLEASURES: OCEANO’S “DEPTHS”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Mar 212012
 

(TheMadIsraeli is no fan of deathcore in general, but in this post he confesses and attempts to explain his love for Oceano’s 2009 debut.)

I know what a lot of you must be thinking.  Is he fucking shitting me?  No, I am not.

Anyone who keeps himself or herself apprised of metal should know who this band is, because they are one of the first stars of the second wave of deathcore along with bands such as Suicide Silence and The Acacia Strain.  You and I do not need to rehearse the beef with deathcore by metalheads of a more purist sort.  For the most part and in the case of most bands, I agree that it’s shallow, insipid, immature, half-assed death metal.  But I believe Oceano, on this album in particular mind you, had something going for them. I honestly don’t know if I can define it, but of course I will try.

Depths has a very strange character.  Its mix matches its title perfectly, with a very open yet hollow shape to the sound and an odd echo surrounding all of the instruments and the vocals.  It sounds like a recording engineered inside an ancient underwater cave infested by demon-spawned sirens.  This is one of the elements that gives Depths its weight and a mood that other deathcore records simply don’t have.  It’s distinctive for this reason alone.  The important part, though, must of course be what lies at the core — the music itself.  What to say about that? Continue reading »

THE SECRETS OF GROWLING AND SHRIEKING REVEALED!

 IQ Subtraction, Metal News  8 Responses »
Aug 162010
 

You learn something new every day. You may not think you do, but you do.

Like on Friday, I learned that the German word for emptiness is “leere”. On Saturday, I learned that if you live in the Pacific Northwest and forgetfully leave your car window down overnight, spiders will move in and later drop on your arm while you’re driving, causing unexpected vehicular fun ‘n games. And yesterday, I learned the secrets of how extreme metal vocalists can shriek and growl really low without requiring hospitalization.

I’ve always wondered, and finally, after years of listening to non-clean singing, it now all becomes clear to me. It’s like some trade secret that finally leaked. And it turns out to be something that is easily duplicated. It just takes the right preparation and the right record producer (like Chris “Zeuss” Harris).

I’m not making this up. I learned it from a dude who ought to know — Adam Warren, who happens to be the frontman for deathcore heavyweights Oceano. It’s all in that video at the top of this post. It just takes sleeping ’til noon, some microwaved elixir, a little Lion King chord-stretching, and someone who can tell you which buttons to push.

Go ahead, see for yourself. The secrets are out. We won’t even charge you to watch. In the video, you can also see some spirited debate over whether “Contagion” is the kind of album title people will have to look up, as compared to a common street-word like, uh, “harbinger”.

Truly, Adam Warren is an engaging dude, and we can pretty much guarantee this thing will make you smile, even if you’re not an Oceano fan.  And while we’re on the subject of deathcore, word of a Whitechapel–Impending Doom–Miss May I–Oceano–I Declare War tour has leaked out. Details about that breaking news, plus an Oceano video, follow after the jump. Wonder what I’ll learn today? Continue reading »