Review by Adam M on November 20, 2018.

The Ocean come back with another epic album of post-metal bliss that echoes the waves of the ocean once again.  Here we have music that echoes Cult of Luna in its power, yet has an extra dimension of grace to make for a more complete listen.  They even added a guest spot by Jonas Renske of Katatonia on Devonian: Nascent to add more variety to the proceedings. 

Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic definitely isn’t afraid to become more moody and morose at times and cataclysmic at others.  It is an album that balances power and majesty to craft a worthwhile experience for all to witness.  How does it differ from the last album Pelagial?  Well, one could consider it more atmospheric and less progressive, but the music is still complex enough to be considered progressive.  There are sections that flat out overpower the listener, but there are others that are used to create a more subtle mood as well.  The differences from the likes of Pelegial are clear and make this a wonderfully fresh listen.  It is still post-metal however and if you never liked the genre before, this will do nothng to change your mind.  The songs are still trance-like and require some patience to absorb. 

The vocals on the album are nicely done and mostly in the harsh sense although there are the occasional clean portions as well.  Guitars are cascading and deliver huge sounds towards the listener even when more restrained.  The solid drumming nicely rounds out the listening experience. This is an album that fans of the band will jump all over, but will probably not get the amount of respect it deserves.  This band has fully established itself now and has a diversity that is welcome to behold.  Post-metal pundits should jump on this, but so should fans of good music in general.

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Carl on December 27, 2020.

Germany's Purgatory have been around since 1993, and in all those years they have unleashed various full lengths that were not always consistent in style. On their first albums they were your typical mid 90's death/grind band, Deicide meets Impetigo meets Morbid Angel, a recipe they held on until 2004's Luciferianism. On that album the grindcore influence had to make place for more sturdy, traditional death metal, kinda Vader meets later Behemoth, and this until the album I'm reviewing here.

Here the band's sound has taken on a darker, slightly more atmospheric edge and it actually really suits them. Sound wise Purgatory have gone deeper into the Behemoth/Belphegor realms of extreme metal (with dashes of Nile thrown in) but they also reference the more underground breed of black/death metal bands like Nexul or Lvcifyre. The band has pulled up a utterly massive wall of sound here, where the percussion collides with the menacing guitar tone and the brutish vocals to earth shattering effect. Sporadic slower, heavier parts have been worked into the compositions while swathes of haunting keyboards and spoken word parts help establish the atmosphere where the band without doubt was aiming for. Unfortunately, sometimes even to undesired comical effect. The words "let my people go", spoken not entirely without accent, in 'The Curse of Samhain, pt. II' brought back memories of an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". The malevolent nature of the music let's you forget such minor flaws in an instant though.

Please allow me to make a mention of the stark black and white artwork and layout as well. It supplements the music well and the engravings in the booklet set the mood perfectly for the pulverizing music contained within.

With this album, the band have reinvented themselves and fit effortlessly into the current state of underground extreme metal and this without coming across as forced in any way. That's no mean feat and there are plenty of other bands of Purgatory's generation that can not make that same claim. Hell, there's even way younger bands that can't even make that claim!

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Carl on December 27, 2020.

Germany's Purgatory have been around since 1993, and in all those years they have unleashed various full lengths that were not always consistent in style. On their first albums they were your typical mid 90's death/grind band, Deicide meets Impetigo meets Morbid Angel, a recipe they held on until 2004's Luciferianism. On that album the grindcore influence had to make place for more sturdy, traditional death metal, kinda Vader meets later Behemoth, and this until the album I'm reviewing here.

Here the band's sound has taken on a darker, slightly more atmospheric edge and it actually really suits them. Sound wise Purgatory have gone deeper into the Behemoth/Belphegor realms of extreme metal (with dashes of Nile thrown in) but they also reference the more underground breed of black/death metal bands like Nexul or Lvcifyre. The band has pulled up a utterly massive wall of sound here, where the percussion collides with the menacing guitar tone and the brutish vocals to earth shattering effect. Sporadic slower, heavier parts have been worked into the compositions while swathes of haunting keyboards and spoken word parts help establish the atmosphere where the band without doubt was aiming for. Unfortunately, sometimes even to undesired comical effect. The words "let my people go", spoken not entirely without accent, in 'The Curse of Samhain, pt. II' brought back memories of an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". The malevolent nature of the music let's you forget such minor flaws in an instant though.

Please allow me to make a mention of the stark black and white artwork and layout as well. It supplements the music well and the engravings in the booklet set the mood perfectly for the pulverizing music contained within.

With this album, the band have reinvented themselves and fit effortlessly into the current state of underground extreme metal and this without coming across as forced in any way. That's no mean feat and there are plenty of other bands of Purgatory's generation that can not make that same claim. Hell, there's even way younger bands that can't even make that claim!

Rating: 8 out of 10