Review by Jack on October 14, 2001.

...And Oceans second full-length album is much the same as their first release; “The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts”, elite symphonic black art that is in a class of its own. What is particularly intriguing about “The Symmetry of I” is that ...And Oceans as a extra have added an ambient lounge music CD: “The Circle of O”.

“The Symmetry of I”: ...And Oceans have refined their fantastic debut with this album and created a superior mold for future black amateurs to say: “Yep, that band is for sure, ...And Oceans influenced.” There is nothing to really to separate one track from one another, except for ‘Mechanic Hippie’ and ‘The Black Vagabond and the Swan of Two Heads' which both contain truly memorable keyboard melodies. ...And Oceans do hold one truly exceptional card up their sleeve, all their songs do not reflect religious and primeval trappings of their genre mates. Song titles being ‘Baby Blue Doll – Merry Go Mind’ and ‘Acid Sex and Marble Teeth (You Phoria)' being truly track names for their comedian or light-hearted individual who does not require their black metal to be taken with issues like famine and world pollution.

“The Circle of O”: Pure ambient, lounge music from ...And Oceans. There is not a lot to say regarding this bonus CD, except it is a welcome relief from the harsh and unforgiving world that metal may sometimes drag you into. ‘Higher Levels of Microbotic Fields’ is a very interesting track, as it takes the keyboard elements of “The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts” ‘Mikrobotik Fields/Ur Idrig Saga Och Sng’ and creates them into a pleasant relaxing ballad. Beautiful.

Bottom Line: If you enjoy symphonic black metal in the vein of ...And Oceans first album and/or Dimmu Borgir’s “Stormblast” and “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant” then “The Symmetry of I” is a joy to behold. “The Circle of O” is pure keyboard driven ambient music, perfect as a release from the day to day trappings of metal.

Rating: "The Symmetry of I": 8 out of 10 / "The Circle of O": 6 out of 10

Review by Jack on October 14, 2001.

...And Oceans second full-length album is much the same as their first release; “The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts”, elite symphonic black art that is in a class of its own. What is particularly intriguing about “The Symmetry of I” is that ...And Oceans as a extra have added an ambient lounge music CD: “The Circle of O”.

“The Symmetry of I”: ...And Oceans have refined their fantastic debut with this album and created a superior mold for future black amateurs to say: “Yep, that band is for sure, ...And Oceans influenced.” There is nothing to really to separate one track from one another, except for ‘Mechanic Hippie’ and ‘The Black Vagabond and the Swan of Two Heads' which both contain truly memorable keyboard melodies. ...And Oceans do hold one truly exceptional card up their sleeve, all their songs do not reflect religious and primeval trappings of their genre mates. Song titles being ‘Baby Blue Doll – Merry Go Mind’ and ‘Acid Sex and Marble Teeth (You Phoria)' being truly track names for their comedian or light-hearted individual who does not require their black metal to be taken with issues like famine and world pollution.

“The Circle of O”: Pure ambient, lounge music from ...And Oceans. There is not a lot to say regarding this bonus CD, except it is a welcome relief from the harsh and unforgiving world that metal may sometimes drag you into. ‘Higher Levels of Microbotic Fields’ is a very interesting track, as it takes the keyboard elements of “The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts” ‘Mikrobotik Fields/Ur Idrig Saga Och Sng’ and creates them into a pleasant relaxing ballad. Beautiful.

Bottom Line: If you enjoy symphonic black metal in the vein of ...And Oceans first album and/or Dimmu Borgir’s “Stormblast” and “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant” then “The Symmetry of I” is a joy to behold. “The Circle of O” is pure keyboard driven ambient music, perfect as a release from the day to day trappings of metal.

Rating: "The Symmetry of I": 8 out of 10 / "The Circle of O": 6 out of 10

Review by Krys on March 10, 2001.

Another band from Finland? Can I finally get some CDs from other parts of the world? Please. Actually I’m happy with it, so far all the bands I’ve covered are doing really fine job and their latest releases are happily spinning in my CD player. That’s also going to be the case with …And Oceans third opus "Allotropic/Metamorphic Genesis Of Dimorphism".

So what do we have here? It’s a combination of black metal and electro-industrial sound. I have to say that it sounds quite interesting. No dark, atmospheric keyboards, as is found in most black metal bands, but rather very melodic, happy lines that could very easily be used in alternative wave-clubs. Take "Tears Have No Name", give it to any DJ and I can see people going nuts on the floor. OK, maybe after a few re-mixes.

Except keyboards the rest of the music is just aggressive, brutal pounding with Killstar’s shrieking vocals. Tracks like "Odious & Devious" or "Postfuturistika" are blasting black metal with futuristic keyboard parts. All those elements create a very distinctive and unforgettable sound that makes this CD a unique piece out of the plethora of black metal releases. Unfortunately, the last song, "New Model World", is just pure fuckin disco and I have no idea what they were thinking while recording this crap. (That song just cost them a one full grade!)

Bottom Line: As always, the excellent work in famous Abyss Studio and outstanding chop-work by Dark Tranquillity guitarist Niklas Sundin make this CD well worth your money.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10