OCEANLORD
OCEANLORD "Kingdom Cold"
By Dr. Abner Mality
OCEANLORD is a doom metal/heavy psych trio from Australia and no, you won't find much of an IMMORTAL connection here despite the album title. After listening to "Kingdom Cold", I don't know if you're going to get much of any reaction or feeling at all out of this.
It's very "doom by the numbers", which is apparent right away with "Kingdom". Sure, they have the super fuzzy bass sound of a SLEEP or ELECTRIC WIZARD down pat, but this tune is just so typical and plain in its construction. You don't expect a ton of innovation from doom, but that doesn't mean you have to sound like you write a tune on autopilot. That's just how this comes across. "2340" follows and is more laid back and psychedelic. Peter Wilmott's vocals are about as thrilling as painting your toenails but his guitar soloing can provide grudging respect.
This is the essence of "not terrible but not memorable" either. Everything is OK. I could wish for more actual heaviness, especially on closer "Come Home", which is more psych than doom. Whoop de doo. Quite frankly, this is in one ear and out the other.