OCEAN OF SADNESS

"Laughing Tears, Crying Smile"
(The LSP Company )

Oceans Of Sadness, who hail from Belgium, are basically a melodic death metal band in the vein of In Flames or Opeth, who like to experiment and be a bit exploratory in places. Their musical groundwork is death metal, albeit a bit more melodic and cleaner sounding than most other death metal bands. Vocalist Tijs Vanneste juggles his vocal styles between "dirty" and "clean" (death metal style grunts, growls, and screaming, and "regular" singing, respectively). Atmospheric keyboards (played by Hans Claes) and classical elements (piano, acoustic guitar, harpsichord, etc.) are used throughout the album. Even more unusual, in one song, "Accepting Out Weakness", a 70's style organ is used! Think that's weird for a death metal band? It gets better! On another track, "Schizophrenia", they use what sounds like an accordion! Yes, you heard right, an accordion! To hear these kinds of instruments, especially the accordion, played alongside death metal style guitar riffs, blast beats, and vocals...well, it sure was different! That's not to say the band does a bad job of it, by any means. They are, in fact, a very, very talented band who play superbly, and pick up even more points for daring to be a little different, but still staying metal. A few more songs that venture into slightly unusual territory (for a death metal band) are "We Are Alone", a tune that starts off an mellower note, with some Pink Floyd influence, but picks up speed in the middle, and features female vocals from guest singer Silvia Kratochvilova; "Cold", which is all piano, acoustic guitar, and Peter Steele (Type O Negative) style singing; and "Shadows", which has a bit of everything. It's fast and slow, hot and cold, metal and classical, Pink Floyd and Type O Negative, and bows out gracefully with some beautifully played classical piano finishing up the song. My only complaint about this track is that it goes on a little too long. Now, if I had to pick a favorite song from this album, it would be the closing track "Try To See", which is basically a power metal tune with death metal vocals. A blitzing tune all the way! That is, except at the very end, with a music box rounding out the song. Oceans Of Sadness have done a fine job with this album! It's a beautifully crafted piece of work, played by some gifted musicians, who aren't afraid to venture into unusual territory, but still keep it metal all the same! These guys have what it takes to be up there with In Flames, and the other "royalty" of this genre! May Oceans Of Sadness get the oceans of success they deserve!

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