29. The Ocean – Precambrian (2007)The Ocean are, again, a recent discovery. I checked them out because I was supposed to see them open for Mastodon, a show which was cancelled due to flooding in our area, but the sole existence of this gig introduced me to one of my biggest discoveries of the past year. Precambrian was my first album by the band, and that's why it's my favourite, but this band is incredibly consistent and the others are not far behind – in fact, their most recent, Pelagial, could just as well be in this place on another day. What I like about this album is the structure – it starts out with rocking, straightforward songs, but as the album goes on, the songs become more brooding, more meandering and more unusual in structure, making the second half feel like an evolution of the first half, yet the album still manages to maintain a sense of unity within, which makes it an amazing listen. Musically, what The Ocean are doing here could best be classified as progressive post metal, but even that is a very insufficient description. If you like post metal, progressive metal, long, atmospheric passages and aren't averse to harsh vocals, then you should definitely give this a try.
Favourite tracks: Paleoarchaean, Neoarchaean, Rhyacian, Statherian, Ectasian, Stenian, Tonian