Release Date: 8th December 2023
A small selection of tracks from German progressive metallers Across Oceans has descended upon us on this very day and, when you consider debut releases that put a marker in the sand for a band, Atlantica has the Berlin well and truly announced the trio on the world of heaviness.
As with anything proggy, there are sections of this EP that are tricker to get into. The opening track itself races through the opening few minutes at an electrifying pace before virtually coming to a standstill as delightfully cute guitars back raw and clean vocals packed with feeling. This minute or so section in the centre of a six-and-a-half minute beast of a track does a lot to highlight the sheer power held within the riffs. Sneering vocals are countered somewhat by some groovy guitars and the catchy drums will get heads banging. A very strong introduction to a new band!
While the meat in the sandwich that is Atlantica is the shortest of the songs, it has some of the most memorable elements. The intro on ‘Encounter’ is deceivingly soft before bouncing out of the blocks. Vocally the track has the strongest cleans, though that’s not to say they’re crisp. The rawness of them lends itself to the style of the track nicely. ‘Above The Sky’ is the finale and is one long progression from the soft and slow start that builds and builds for what feels like the whole five minutes. A couple of minutes in the vocals switch from the cleans back to the not so cleans and som of the strongest guitarwork on the album sees the EP to a close. Pretty short and for the most part not all that sweet.
You get the feeling that throughout the full 16ish minutes that Atlantica runs for that Across Oceans are just doing their best to enjoy themselves the whole time. It doesn’t feel forced or like it’s trying to be modern at the cost of being authentic. It’s just a band writing the songs that they want to. Now, go give them some social media love and maybe pick up a copy somewhere!