Phanerozoic Stromatolites ii

In 2018, European progressive extreme music outfit the Ocean Collective released Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic, the first half of a sprawling concept offering based on paleontology. Its companion, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, closes the evolutionary cycle that spans all periods during the Phanerozoic Eon. The first album documented the Cambrian explosion that ended with the pre-Triassic extinction event. This chronological sequel begins at the dawn of the dinosaurs, then continues in the present epoch. Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic garnered acclaim for its relentless heaviness and straightforward musical progression. Phanerozoic II is far more experimental and eclectic. Its sounds, words, and atmospheres are pursued in ever-expanding circles, employing varied tempos, abundant electronic textures, melodic compositional frames, and selective orchestration to create something that borders on the exotic, yet remains heavy as hell.

Since issuing Aeolian in 2005, Berlin's continually evolving extreme music collective the Ocean have created conceptual recordings that reflect the evolutionary, violent character of nature itself with a musical signature that combines progressive, sludge, hardcore, and atmospheric post-metal. Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic is the first of two releases - the second is forthcoming in 2020. After 2013's glorious Pelagial, which charted the savage and harmonious life of the sea, Phanerozoic I returns the focus to solid ground; it is the proper sequential sequel to 2007's Precambrian and the missing link between it and 2010's Heliocentric/Anthropocentric.
While Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic continues some of the genre traits and strategies of Pelagial, it's musically more akin to the progressive metal feel of Precambrian…