Review by Billy Geary
The Ocean are one of the more interesting bands of the past few decades. The brainchild of guitarist Robin Staps, The Ocean has, over the years, morphed into one of the most forward thinking and innovative metal bands in the world. Their show at Melbourne’s Hi-Fi bar on Saturday night was the second last leg of their maiden tour of Australia, and what a night it was.

Upon descending the steps below Swanston Street, Sydney’s Lo! and their brand of chaotic hardcore was reverberating around the room and up the staircase. First impressions were good, with the quartet proving dynamic on the Hi-Fi’s stage. Front man Jamie-Leigh Smith screamed his way around the room, both on stage and off it and gradually won over an oddly surly audience over as their set progressed. Coming across as a mixture of Converge and Mastodon, the sludgy riffs from Carl Whitbread sounded huge over the PA, really driving the band’s sound into the punters present. At the conclusion of their set, it was more than obvious why they were hand picked by The Ocean to support the entire tour.

Acting as main supports for the night were Melbourne’s very own Sydonia, their atmospheric tinged rock and metal an almost polar opposite of what came before them. Sydonia’s set consisted of plenty of new material from the band’s long awaited second album, with ‘C: Thirteen,’ ‘Words’ and ‘Shame’ all notable inclusions to the set. The quartet’s melodic take on heavy rock seemed to go down quite well with the crowd, with the applause at the end of each song getting louder each time. The heavy assault of ‘3 Tongues,’ complete with its three-drummer set up garnered a massive response, and understandably so, given the crowds preferences leaning towards the heavier side of things. As usual, vocalist Dana Roskvist’s vocals were perfect throughout their set; his enormous range certainly sending shivers down the spines of many. Live staple ‘Rubber Bullet’ saw the culmination of a great set, which would have definitely gained some new fans for the hard working band.

Finally, the five men that comprise The Ocean made it on stage to rapturous applause from the crowd. Despite their relative obscurity in the world of heavy music, their eclectic brand of post metal had brought a pretty reasonable crowd out of the woodwork. Wasting no time, the quintet launched straight into ‘Firmament,’ taken from their 2010 album Heliocentric. From the first note, The Ocean affirmed themselves as an absolutely phenomenal live act, with all of them taking turns to throw themselves around the stage in fits of energy. Notably, vocalist Loic Rossetti ended up in the crowd on more than one occasion, launching himself off the fold back speakers as he pleased. Even more impressive was how his vocals held up in the live environment, with both screams and cleans near perfect throughout the set, particularly during the epic ‘Anthropocentic.’

To many in the crowd’s delight, The Ocean waded their way through some of their back catalogue during their set. The most impressive being ‘Ectasian,’ taken off their 2007 opus Precambrian, its heavy post metal vibe thudding its way into the ear drums of many happy punters. The band finished off the main part of the their set with the epic duo of ‘The Origin of Species’ and ‘The Origin of God,’ both some of the best songs the band has written. ‘The Origin of Species’ was a particular highlight, with Rossetti’s gravelly clean vocals really hitting hard. To the crowds delight, the band re-emerged onto the stage for a three song encore, with the triple hit of ‘Sewers of the Soul,’ ‘Metaphysics of the Hangman’ and ending their set with a chaotic rendition of ‘She Was the Universe.’ Thus came the end to what will surely end up being one of the gigs of the year and despite it going way too quickly, it was an experience none in the audience will forget.

Artists: The Ocean – www.facebook.com/theoceancollective
Lo! – www.facebook.com/lookandbehold
Sydonia – www.facebook.com/sydoniaofficial
Venue: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne
Date: 26th May 2012

Review by Billy Geary

Click here for our photos of The Ocean, Nuclear Summer, Lo! & Dead Letter Opener live @ The Zoo, Brisbane – 24 May 2012

Photo Credit: Amanda Brenchley