The second half of the 90's saw the rise of one of the best names from Finnish Metal scene of all times: ...AND OCEANS. Their albums "The Dynamic Gallery of Thoughts" (1998), "The Symmetry of I, the Circle of O" (1999), "A.M.G.O.D." (2001) and "Cypher" (2002) showed a dynamical band that could show extremely different faces from the same music, always a refreshing and excellent work. But it came to an early end back on 2005, and reformed as HAVOC UNIT (an Industrial Metal band). But they're back to the genre they created for themselves into extreme Metal, and unleashed another precious gem for the fans, "Cosmic World Mother".

Their approach is a form of Melodic Black Metal permeated by many different influences, going from extreme and fast moments to deeper and melodic parts, a formula that in the hands of these maniacs shines with a personal gleam and energy, and that is based on their two first albums, but with a new and fresh insight. Excellent guitar riffs and solos, amazing orchestrations from the keyboards, a solid and technical work on drums, and incredible and expressive vocals are what you find in the songs, but be prepared to be entangled by their extreme charming appeal.

The hands of Owe Inborr were chosen to produce, mix and master "Cosmic World Mother", and he made the link between the identity of the band traced in the past with a modern and solid outfit. It's their best sound quality ever, so everything can be understood easily, but the maelstromic chaos unleashed by their mix of aggressiveness and melody is unstoppable and impossible to resist due the sonority that take the best of their songs. And the art created by Adrien Bousson is amazing as well.

These past 15 years didn't take their appeal, and all the songs of the album are precious jewels for extreme Metal fans, but the melodic and chaotic violence imposed by "The Dissolution of Mind and Matter" (excellent bass guitar and drums presence, sustaining the weight and rhythmic changes) and "Vigilance and Atrophy" (a storm of excellent guitar riffs and melodic keyboards), the sharp fast tempos of "Five of Swords", the seductive melodic appeal of the slow parts of "As the After Becomes the Before" and of "Cosmic World Mother" (one of the finest moments of the vocals on the album), the brutal drilling riffs of "Helminthiasis", that freezing touch feeling given by "Oscillator Epitaph" (some melodic parts of keyboards are amazing); the climatic short intermezzo given by "In Abhorrence Upon Meadows" created the right ambiance for the aggressive and fast inferno named "Apokatastasis" (a song full of rich ambiances, contrasting the fast moments with climatic parts), and the breakneck speed of some parts of "One of Light, One of Soil" (that shows different rhythmic conductions on it) and the deeper and charming melodic ambiances shown on "The Flickering Lights" are enough to catch all those fans that misses the best moments of Melodic Black Metal from the 90's, but with a new and fresh outfit, ready for the future.

"Cosmic World Mother" comes to be one of the best albums of the year, and to state that ...AND OCEANS still has its place on extreme Metal. And please, Mathias, Timo, Teemu, Petri, Kauko and Antti, never leave us again.