Occasionally in life it’s fun to set oneself challenges and goals. A month without drinking. A target weight. An extra mile on the morning run. Well, why should music be any different? I had heard of Ocean Chief previously, but never actually encountered them on record before, but an album of 4 songs that clocks in at nearly an hour and a quarter, all of sludgy doom and performed entirely in Swedish? As a doom fan, that challenge sounded right up my street.
Sten is the Swedish word for stone, and it’s a very apt title for this, their fourth full length album, as the music represents a large immovable stone boulder. It’s hard, heavy and crushing and the band waste no time in letting you know what you are up against on opening track ‘Den Sanna Strykan’ (Which despite my initial suspicions is not Swedish for Stannah Stairlift and the song does not describe a long and laborious trip to the top of a flight of stairs). The title means ‘The Genuine Strength’, and this is something that Ocean Chief have in abundance as there is no point in writing 10 minute plus songs if you cannot hold the interest of the listener. From the initial crushing riff it’s obvious that holding the interest is really not going to be a problem. The low down and dirty fuzz seems to pin you down as drummer and vocalist Tobias Larsson’s angry sounding but insistent singing dares you to drift away if you can. When the song settles into a calmer, more instrumental piece, it tells a musical tale that reminds me of Ahab for pace and ambience.
This is Ocean Chief’s first album with a permanent keyboardist, although the addition of Johan Pettersson here does nothing to lighten the sound as a keyboard usually does, but instead manages to add to the weight of the music. So after the initial beating, Ocean Chief force you against the grindstone, or ‘Slipsten’. Once again, they balance the measured aggression against moments of pure beauty and relaxation, and it is this trade off that works so well, as you let your guard down for the moments of respite that you are allowed before you suddenly find yourself rolling another boulder uphill for which you were suddenly unprepared. The guitar sound of Björn Andersson holds the sounds together even when the riffs themselves are not sufficient, the tone and drone keep you hooked in, often just waiting for the next note.
Like many bands of this style, it’s more accurate to consider each track not so much as a song but a journey. Some fans of pure sludge and drone may not find this to their taste and perhaps slightly too technical; but for fans of this style of music, Ocean Chief have delivered a real winner here. So often I hear from metal fans who believe that metal has to be brutal. Any experienced metal aficionado worth their salt knows that to be a load of rubbish, and this here is a perfect example. This is music so heavy that it feels as if it crushes you underfoot and grinds you into the dirt, yet manages to remain somehow beautiful and relaxing whilst it does so. It’s a genuine pleasure to be crushed by music of this quality. Fans of Kongh, Ufomammut and Ahab should seek this one out immediately. Those with a short attention span need not apply.
(8.5/10 – Lee Kimber)
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