Following on from dropping their debut EP Celestial Towers Of Silver Ash in 2021, Vivienne is the follow up release from Oceansnow, having signed with Italy’s Avantgarde Music a label specialising in quality black and doom metal in all their forms, with recent notable releases from the likes of A Pale December and Noircure, and a stable which also includes Abigor and Violet Cold.
Hailing from the ravines of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, the elusive duo behind the music have links to the death/doom band Spectral Voice and the experimentally tripped out White Nights, but beyond that are keeping their identities shrouded in mystery for this project.
The first impressions of the music come with the artwork, an aerial view of a cold misty forest, which instantly evokes feelings of isolation and that of nature, clichés of modern atmospheric black metal for sure, but providing a visual representation of the music which shows exactly what to expect when you hit the play button.
The record opens into a full on onslaught with ‘Couloir’, no lengthy tension building introduction and straight down to business with sweeping guitars and double fast kick drums. An icy cold synth meanders in the background bringing the atmosphere, and when the vocals drop your transported straight back to the mid nineties Norwegian scene. The track breaks with the sound of a bellowing wind providing short respite before the track thunders back to life.
The album does not deviate too far from this formula to be honest, what Oceansnow provide is a sound heavily influenced by early black metal, themed around the elements with the cold and all of its connotations such as feelings of despair and suffering prevalent throughout. Their use of the synth cleverly provides the desired tone to help the listener on their journey, layered deep in the mix behind fuzzy guitars and a lo-fi kind of production. And if that’s your bag, then I would say despite a lack of anything wholly original, there is absolutely nothing to dislike here at all.
Mid-way through the album ‘Mandragora’ drops the tempo and stands out as an intermission of sorts, before the instant ferocity of ‘Alluvium & Illuviam’ picks the pace straight back up again. Title track ‘Vivienne’, which was released as a preview at the end of 2021, might just be stand out cut, switching up speeds to a pleasingly hypnotic effect, before the album finishes with the drone atmospherics of ‘Astrosporina’, providing the opportunity for the listener to catch their breath, and reflect back on what’s come before.
So while Oceansnow are far from ripping up the rule book of the genre, they certainly seem to know what they’re doing on Vivienne, pushing the right buttons to create an experience that admirers of the sound will come back to for repeat listens.
Buy the album here: https://avantgardemusic.bandcamp.com/album/vivienne
6 / 10