OCEANS OF NIGHT
OCEANS OF NIGHT “Mindstorm”
By Dark Starr
I've been following and covering this band for a very long time. And, speaking of a long time, it's been ten years since their last album. Now they have delivered a new helping of OCEANS OF NIGHT music that fits well into their catalog. I know some consider their music metal with prog in the mix, but I usually land them just on the other side of that equation, putting them under progressive rock. Your mileage may vary on that classification. If you've ever liked this act, you have a pretty good idea what to expect.
The opening two-fer is "Servants of Shadow / New Dawn" and atmospheric textures get things underway on. An electronic keyboard jam emerges unaccompanied for a time. Then hard-edged music is added to the mix. That keyboard section remains, though and gets some more moments by itself. Some metallic rock rises upward after a time, and this really does do a great job of merging prog and metal vibes as it continues. It is an effective instrumental opener.
Hard rocking, there is a definite prog metal vibe at play on "Before the Fall." It is a driving rocker that works really well. It's heavy, dark and creative. Dark prog with metal vibes is on the menu as "Siren" gets underway. There are some cool twists and turns built into it. It also features some scorching hot guitar soloing. The driving hard rocker titled "Vast and Infinite" has some metal in the mix along with metallic prog. It has some killer guitar soloing, and this instrumental is one of my favorite things here. It's packed full of energy and magic. It's proggy, but also edgy and metallic.
More of a driving hard rocker, "Closer to the Edge" doesn't have as much prog built into it as some of the others do. It's also perhaps not as strong as the rest around it. That said, it has its charms. It also features some particularly meaty guitar soloing. "Obelisk" comes next, and this is more like it. It's got an insistent rhythm section and some powerhouse jamming. It has more prog in it, and really manages to shine brightly. The instrumental has some cool changes and differing modes. It's quite a cool ride.
"Man Clothed in the Light of the Sun" is packed full of drama and magic. It is an intriguing piece that really works well. It's nearly an instrumental, and it's all class. In fact, it's one of my favorites here. Fast-paced and hard rocking, "Mindstorm" features female vocals. It is definitely proggy in an arena rock way, but it also has plenty of metal vibes in play. It's one of the most furious things here in terms of energy and tempo. That makes it a great choice for title track.
There is a mellower, keyboard-based introductory section to "No Turning Back." The track eventually works out to fierce, driving metallic sounds that work well. It has moodier, dramatic dropped down things, too. There is a drop back to another keyboard-oriented movement after the halfway mark. At well over nine-minutes of music, it is the epic of the set, and it gets back into more rocking zones before it's over. "Mictlantecuhtli" is next, and the jam features some powerhouse guitar work. Then again, everyone puts in exceptional performances on it.
Melodic, but rocking sounds get things underway on "Distant." After that introduction works through, it gets into mellow, rather symphonic sounds for the entrance of the female vocals on the cut. That movement is quite pretty It turns more driving and hard rocking further down the road. There is some stellar jamming built into that harder edged section.
The closing "Event Horizon" comes in via a keyboard sounding movement that grows gradually. It builds upward into a more rocking arrangement while still continuing the vibes. That eventually peaks, and we're brought back to more mellow keyboard zones. That mode ends this instrumental in style, really grounding the whole thing.