Review: And Oceans – As in Gardens, So in Tombs

Review by Jeger

And Oceans – As in Gardens, So in Tombs

Record Label: Season of Mist

Year: 2023

Rating: 9/10

Finland’s …And Oceans are an enigmatic musical entity whose eccentricity is only matched by their legend. Urban myths surround them and the shifty creative path that they’ve taken throughout their long-running yet inconsistent career has been one that’s seen them fearlessly navigate their way through Symphonic, Industrial and now Atmospheric Black Metal environments. And with several different musicians along the way.

During the plague days of 2020, 18 years following their industrial 2002 “Cypher” album, …And Oceans released their comeback effort, “Cosmic World Mother”, under the mark of their current label, Season of Mist, and to the satisfaction of their fans and critics. Experimentation is no longer the name of the game as they say; only this refined but explorative, bordering on fantasy -a level of extraordinary Symphonic/Atmospheric Black Metal. And with their latest album, a great seal has been broken. A passage through cosmic eschaton and cold voids into our world where oceans and clouds form their horizons upon crystalline aquatic tapestries has been revealed. We thought we knew this place, just as we thought we knew Black Metal. But much like the awe-inspiring and even fear-inducing majesty of nature, this latest edition provides an overwhelmingly unpredictable experience that’s sure to challenge your current level of BM and worldly comprehension. On January 27, …And Oceans released “As In Gardens, So In Tombs”.

…And Oceans

Someplace betwixed where Dimmu Borgir’s Symphonic orchestra meets Sear Bliss’ atmospheric overture is where you’ll find the opening title-track as it plays out to alternating scores between epic grandiosities and bizarre cinematic sequences. Otherworldly or perhaps from somewhere deep within our undiscovered marine abysses, an extraterrestrial soliloquy. “Wine Into Water” unfolds to the same triumphant tones but with a level of brutality not akin to the rest of the cuts on the record – heavy grooves and dreadful gutturals that harken back to the early Opeth days to see you off into the peril of “Inverse Magnification Matrix”. Piano-accented, gothic soundscapes kindle a blaze of Septicflesh-like dark magnificence that ignites an already alive atmosphere.

Aesthetically, with “As In Gardens, So In Tombs”, a rediscovery takes place; one that casts the world around us in a wondrous kind of light – the kind of luminance that can only be seen through a child’s eyes. Musically, there are no superficialities like gaudy intros, mood-breaking interludes, or other wastes of recording space to be found. The quasi-sci-fi atmospheric enhancements and other effects you’ll experience here are like a bit of ginger beer in your bourbon – a well-blended and balanced addition to certain tracks as opposed to a vulgar incursion.

Black metal for the daydreamer or the quiet soul who’s not completely lost the ability to see the forlorn fantasy in the every day, but also for the brave. Prepare to take a journey through both self and the surrounding world with all ominous and even sinister BM elements to absorb along the way. A musical homage to the heavyweights of the Symphonic Black Metal world and a tip of the cap to atmospheric collectives such as Grima, Marrasmieli and the aforementioned Sear Bliss. Just like 2020’s “Cosmic World Mother”, “As In Gardens, So In Tombs” is an unforgettable album and a testament to a band that is currently on a level of their own.

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