Mammoth is an understatement

The ocean is fascinating for many reasons. As an environmental body, it’s expansive, mysterious and captivating. Those same adjectives could also be applied to German progressive metal band The Ocean (also referred to as The Ocean Collective). With more than 40 members cycling in and out the group over the course of their near two-decade-long career, the collective has developed a particular schtick for tackling conceptual subject matter bigger the run of the mill. Their themes center around elements of geological and human being–like wind, change and eons (Fluxion, Aeolian, Precambrian), Christianity (Heliocentric and Anthropocentric), to even a more self-titled focused with their 2013 opus Pelagial. The Ocean’s latest release, however, turns the focus onto the present, taking the listener on just as many ups and downs as this geological eon has on life itself.

Aside from being the name of the release (and allegedly the next one, as there are rumors of it being a double album), Phanerozoic is also the name of the current geological eon; the one in which most of Earth’s life has existed. That’s difficult to melodically compete with, but The Ocean seems to hold up just fine. “The Cambrian Explosion” slowly opens up the album with a piano sequence that likens itself to the score of a movie scene, where the viewer is following a character into an unknown situation. A looming mysteriousness clouds it, reaching its peak before transitioning into “Cambrian II: Eternal Recurrence.” Its distorted nature and booming drums are lasting and effectual, but there’s robustness that carries throughout the rest of the record.

Part of that heft comes in Phanerozoic I’s song titles. There’s no way to ignore names like “Ordovicium: The Glaciation of Gondwana” and “The Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse,” but the real power comes in the warped interplay between the guitar and bass on “Silurian: Age of Sea Scorpions,” before horns and piano draw the track out in an orderly fashion. It leads into “Devonian: Nascent,” a track where the vocals from frontman Loïc Rossetti erupt like hellfire. Such a to-do was made of the rest of the tracks on Phanerozoic I that ending on the poised instrumentals of “Permian: The Great Dying” was an appropriate choice.

If there’s one thing The Ocean have proven they’re more than capable of, it’s ostentatious showmanship and presentation. Their albums thus far have been like grandiose productions, and this first half of their Phanerozoic pairing maintains that truth. With the given track record of The Ocean, it’s sure that the latter half of this double album will do the same.