Band : Ocean
Album Title : Pantheon Of The Lesser
Label : Important Records
Distributor : Bertus - Suburban
Release Date : December 2008
Review : CD

Following their acclaimed breakthrough debut album Here Were Nothing Grows that caught the ears of critics and fans worldwide, and became Important's highest selling album, Ocean has returned with their forward thinking, brutally heavy and purely minimalist sophomore album Pantheon Of The Lesser.

Pantheon Of The Lesser was composed over a period of two years in Ocean's home studio in Portland, Maine. As the seasons passed each track was written, re-written, played and then re-played as layers were slowly stripped away until the true essence of the song was revealed. Once Ocean entered the studio it took another two years to deconstruct Pantheon Of The Lesser until they had found the core of their writing. This disciplined deconstructionist approach to songwriting is how Pantheon Of The Lesser is Ocean taking it to the next level of the abyss. The result of this compositional technique is over an hour of strictly bare instrumentation and a kind of natural heavyness that slowly rises and falls in a pure organic fashion.(Important-bio)

Ocean are one of those bands who have actually made something already extreme more extreme. Drone metal gets a new dose of crushing low-tuned Sunno-molded riffage and Evoken-like devastating intensity. The band's quest to unleash a dismal, bleak and funereal sound is very much realized on the album. Vocals, that carry a burden of a lifetime of pain, have the ability to elevate the music  The combination of the impressive sound; the extraordinary spaciness and the compelling music is perfect and turns this 2-track CD into a mindblowing experience! I can say that the effort which the ensemble makes here is truly leviathan, monumental, and all the more astounding for its accomplishment!

This sort of extremely plodding, dense and lumberous drone may lose the attention of many but enthusiasts of the genre (and you know darnned well who you are) will find quite a bit to enjoy here.. Packaged in a deluxe foil printed heavy duty cardboard jacket with art by renowned Maine illustrator Bruce Hutchison.

Cosmicmasseur.