Review by Krys on September 1, 2002.

Our most untamed Finish boys are back with what is already their 4th full-length record. “Cypher” not only represents the best material in bands career but also displays the shortest and easiest to remember title. If you think that’s not important than take a look at the list of tracks and be thankful that you have something easy to remember and relate to when you discuss it with your fellow metalheads.

In one sentence “Cypher” is a continuation of “A.M.G.O.D.” where industial/techno keyboards are incorporated with aggressive and powerful metal but with much better ideas and a more careful arrangement. “Aggressive and powerful metal” was used here because I can’t simply put a tag on this band without reconsidering my opinion after every few spins. The band’s influences can be heard from almost every metal genre (well, maybe not from power metal), blending of all kinds of industrial and techno sounds they create something that’s not really comparable to anything else on the scene. If you’ve never heard them before try to mixed Pain, The Kovenant, The Project Hate MCMXCIX and Ram-Zet... but bear in mind ...And Oceans is none of the above.

If you had problems categorizing “A.M.G.O.D.” then “Cypher” will not help you in that matter either, but as long as the music keeps my head moving I don’t really care. And believe me you’ll be headbanging in no time. From opener ‘Fragile: Pictures Of Silence: Melting The Skies’ till ‘Debris: The Magenta Harvest: Liquid Flesh’ ...And Oceans rips through with memorable riffs, a pounding rhythm section, aggressive vocals and cold keyboard textures that make “Cypher” their most mature release where all musical elements complement each other rather than fighting for space and exposure. As always the last track is fully electronic and it beats the shit out of me why do they do this but since the first 12 songs have been rocking my house for over a week now I’m going to forgive them this mishap.

Bottom Line: ...And Oceans never was, and I hope never will be, just another band on today’s metal scene. Always striving for unique sound and vision they finally created an album where all their concepts and ideas fall into place... and I’m afraid that’s just the beginning.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 10
Originality: 8
Overall: 9

Rating: 9 out of 10