Artist: Oceana
Album: Birtheater
Genre: Hardcore/Metalcore
Label: Rise

Last week we covered death metal rockers, Oceano, but this band, Oceana, is an entirely different breed altogether. Hailing from the scenecore capitol, Rise Records, This metalcore is something a bit different from the normal fruit of the vine. Through extremely well done prodcution and screams to make your own throat, Birtheater, the band’s latest record is one you might want to sink your teeth into.

Blasting out the gates with, “Breather II,” Oceana wastes no time holding the knife to metal’s throat. It’s just deep, thick, and heavy throughout with some light vocal addition to show a bit of range. It’s an instant attention getter that makes you want to hear more. As the record moves on though,w e learn there is a lot more to this act as tracks like, “The Family Disease,” feel more like 90’s hard rock and, “The Constrictor,” gives us a straight up hardcore sound. So much variance in three tracks on one record, yet it all flows pretty well. astounding. It’s these three sounds that seem to go in and out throughout the record and a lot of the positive parts from each lies in the vocals. They’re clean and smooth when they need to be and terrifying at other points. A perfect vocal choice for this genre.

“The Abortion Plan,” a track that starts like the prelude to a war has drums that sync into your system like a drug and a structure that dares to be fought. It’s epic while staying within the style[s] of the band. This is the one track I think people will continually show others to prove the band is more than fly by night Rise rockers. However, for every upside, there are downsides and “In Birth,” “Boa,” and “Devil Walk, God Walk,” the supposedly epic closer, all feel a bit run of the mill. I’m not saying they flat out suck, but based on the caliber the band has given us on the majority of the record, these all feel a bit, for lack of a better word, meh.

Regardless of the toss away tracks, Oceana has proven something with Birtheater. They’ve proven they’re more than just another Rise Records act. They’re a metalcore act on a label who just happens to be very good at marketing [and signing] acts in this genre, except in this case, the band actually deserves the deal they have [if not better]. They’re a band that stands out in a genre filled with sheep and for that alone they deserve your attention and our respect.

Score: 7/10

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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