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INVITABLE END - The Oculus

GENRE: Grindcore
COUNTRY: Sweden
FORMAT: CD
LABEL: Relapse Records
YEAR: May 24th, 2011

RATING: 6/10
REVIEWED BY: PSL
PROVIDED BY: Relapse Records

The Oculus is definitely not what I anticipated of the Swedes. The changes are difficult to ignore. Gone are most of the obvious death metal parts. The music is much more grindcore and hardcore fuelled nowadays. It's complex and has elements of mathcore in it as well.

Many of the basics are intact, but the four-piece experiments more than they did in the past. Bits and pieces of southern rock and piano pop up here and there, like on "Of Sublime Dimensions" and "Zen". The song "Of the Well" has some slide guitar on it as well. These small things add some additional zest to the music and give it a different look. However it doesn't change the fact that music gets a bit boring after a while.

I miss more catchy riffs or parts to ease up on the bombardment of riffs and constant changes in the pace. More of how it's done on "Dogmaties Paralies" would be great, as there's a good balance between the different things going on in that song. I also like the slow, heavy start on "The Supreme Treachery" a lot, but there isn't much of that on The Oculus. I like how the four-piece try-out different ideas. Some of it works well, while other ideas are less exciting.

The vocals are a mixture of low end growls and a hysteric shouting. The shouting vocals tend to overshadow the growls and that does get annoying after a while.

Overall I think The Oculus is a worthy follow-up, but it's also an effort that you don't take in right away. If you like your music complex and not too typical then The Oculus is hard to avoid.


Tell Us, Parasites Escaping the Black Hole Zen Dogmaties Paralies The Supreme Treachery The Oculus While Surpassing Ether Vergelmer Chamber of Apathy Memento Me Tem Psy Cho Sis Cadaver Inc. Of Sublime Dimensions
		INVITABLE END - The Oculus GENRE: Grindcore COUNTRY: Sweden FORMAT: CD LABEL: Relapse Records YEAR: May 24th, 2011 RATING: 6/10 REVIEWED BY: PSL PROVIDED BY: Relapse Records The Oculus is definitely not what I anticipated of the Swedes. The changes are difficult to ignore. Gone are most of the obvious death metal parts. The music is much more grindcore and hardcore fuelled nowadays. It's complex and has elements of mathcore in it as well. Many of the basics are intact, but the four-piece experiments more than they did in the past. Bits and pieces of southern rock and piano pop up here and there, like on "Of Sublime Dimensions" and "Zen". The song "Of the Well" has some slide guitar on it as well. These small things add some additional zest to the music and give it a different look. However it doesn't change the fact that music gets a bit boring after a while. I miss more catchy riffs or parts to ease up on the bombardment of riffs and constant changes in the pace. More of how it's done on "Dogmaties Paralies" would be great, as there's a good balance between the different things going on in that song. I also like the slow, heavy start on "The Supreme Treachery" a lot, but there isn't much of that on The Oculus. I like how the four-piece try-out different ideas. Some of it works well, while other ideas are less exciting. The vocals are a mixture of low end growls and a hysteric shouting. The shouting vocals tend to overshadow the growls and that does get annoying after a while. Overall I think The Oculus is a worthy follow-up, but it's also an effort that you don't take in right away. If you like your music complex and not too typical then The Oculus is hard to avoid.