ALBUM REVIEW: Living Chaos – Oceano
Deathcore bruisers OCEANO have certainly stood the test of time, still firing on all cylinders when many of their peers have fallen by the wayside. It’s been quite some time since their previous album Revelation was released all the way back in 2017, but Living Chaos promises to more than make up for the lengthy absence.
Wasted Life welcomes you with a bloodcurdling scream amongst the unnerving heaviness we have come to know and love. Swift, snappy drum beats also play their part in the violence. Mass Produced opens with an intriguingly melodic vibe that is soon swept aside in favour of additional intense brutality. Ferocious riffs gush forth like an unstoppable tsunami, flattening all in its path. Darkness Rising follows in similar fashion, luring you into a false sense of security with soothing synths before the aggression strikes from the shadows. This track, however, does maintain some semblance of lighter tones as they meander around the otherwise menacing soundscape.
Into The Flames provides neck-snapping grooves and caustic screams betwixt alluring atmospherics. Proceed with caution as the monstrous breakdown which is unleashed will reduce your bones to dust. Wounds Never Healed continues the bouts of experimentation, melding bludgeoning instrumentation with electronic elements that feel very reminiscent of the combinations you’d find on a FEAR FACTORY album – definitely a track which will leave a lasting impression. Interlude offers up some clean, contemplative tones that possess a distinctly cinematic quality. Whilst exhibiting a relaxing sensation, you feel like this may be opening the door for something more sinister.
The Price Of Pain dials up the frenzy considerably with a savage volley of destructive force that will leave you reeling. Living Chaos sustains the onslaught, opting for a rhythmic pummelling as its weapon of choice. Broken Curse chooses to also dabble in the realm of melody, cleverly meshing the dark and the light to provide quite the emotive proposition. Ferocious beatdowns jostle for prominence with glimmers of optimism.
Living Chaos is the ideal length for this style of release. It hammers home its agenda in emphatic fashion without outstaying its welcome. It also displays OCEANO at their potent best, not afraid to get creative and push their boundaries beyond the field of barbaric deathcore. Frontman Adam Warren has always been equipped with the innate ability to effortlessly captivate an audience but this could well be his crowning glory.
Rating: 9/10
Living Chaos is out now via Sumerian Records.
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