Death Engine – Ocean

(c) Olivier Roisneau

After a strong start with several entertaining EPs, strong albums and various performances that even took them to Hellfest, they had to Death Engine like starting from scratch. First there was a small break with a new line-up around frontman Mikaël Le Diraison, then they invested two years in the new record. The newly formed quartet from Lorient in western France lost none of its intensity. But on the contrary: „Ocean“ brings the intensive mix of post metal, noise rock and sludge more than ever to the rough and epic point.

The mighty “Pulled Down” quickly establishes itself as a new reference track. The incredibly long, inconspicuous intro leads on the wrong track, at least until brutal screams shake the event and even make Cult Of Luna look old in terms of post-metallic frustration. At the climax, when the tension seems unbearable, slightly distorted clear vocals break through the woodwork, but without allowing for great musical variations. The slobbering anger quickly returns, colliding with palpable despair. Even a short caesura and the repeated return to melodic approaches don’t change anything. It’s almost psychological terror, and of the best kind.

Death Engine do not rely on any genre formula and are constantly looking for fresh approaches. There’s “Dying Alone”, for example, whose noisy seething collides with cool yet emotionally charged melodies – A Pale Horse Named Death for the post-sludge generation, if you will. “Leaden Silence” lives up to its name and unleashes leaden power, possibly dissonant and exhausting, accompanied by agony. This has also leased the overly long finale “Empire” and allows multiple small, catastrophic discharges. The French move to the limit for almost the entire song and torpedo all senses with devastating precision.

The quartet constantly explores boundaries and surpasses itself in the process. While a song like “Pulled Down” is an instant hit, the rest take time to unfold, but do so in a terrific way. “Ocean” marks a new start in terms of personnel, which Death Engine does very well creatively. Every song is a small masterpiece, rich in details and emotional, inner restlessness, turbulent and quite destructively beautiful: the first over-album of the new year will hopefully bring the French (back) onto big international stages.

Rating: 9/10

Available from: 01/13/2023
Available through: Throatruiner Records

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Slider Pic (c) Olivier Roisneau

Tags: death engine, featured, full-image, noise rock, ocean, post metal, review, sludge

Category: Magazin, Reviews

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