From Bandcamp, “In the frozen depths of Finland's iciest lakes,…AND OCEANS emerged, fusing symphonic black metal with avant-garde twists and splashes of industrial chaos. For decades, they've been the torchbearers of a genre that defies boundaries—constantly reinventing their sound with each new album. Their latest full-length, "The Regeneration Itinerary," is a transcendent expedition into the duality of light and dark. This itinerary navigates the delicate balance where shadows kiss the dawn.” The album has ten songs, and “Inertiae” is first. Take a moment to consider the grandiose nature of the first few bars…the music is incredibly tight and thick, but also breathes from spacy background elements. Electronica steps forward, and the feeling of the song completely changes. Genre bending, indeed. “Förnyelse i Tre Akter” rapid fires at you like an assault rifle mowing down a crowd. It slows to a gruesome grind where you can hear layers being filled in the background…some are guitars, and some are keyboards, before it darts back to the deadly sound in the beginning. It can be difficult to keep up with the transitions, but they are seamless.

“Chromium Lungs, Bronze Optics” features a more traditional Black Metal sound, but it segues into so much more…symphonic elements, melody, and even some emotions that you might not expect. Take the rage towards the end for example…it is so much, you can taste it. “The Form and the Formless” is a full, intense song that is filled with about everything that the band can throw at you. The electronic diversion Is a complete surprise, for example, but it just works with the completely dense sound. “Prophetical Mercury Implement” takes a more melodic approach, giving the melody a few twists and turns within the crowed black sound. The melody soaks in slowly, almost like a poison, and towards the end, a towering monumental sound develops.

 “The Fire in Which We Burn” combines the raw intensity of Black Metal and drums faster than the human ear can comprehend with the meatiness of Death Metal. “The Way of Sulphur” combines an almost Industrial beat with the fervor of Extreme Metal, and it shows another side of the band’s songwriting prowess. The circus-like keyboards in the background provide some jovial notes to the song, which is otherwise very serious. “I Am Coin, I Am Two” has a much more somber sound at first, but when it kicks into gear, it’s like flipping the light switch on in a dark room, segueing the song from a gloomy feeling to one that is more angry and intense. “Towards the Absence of Light” is straight rage personified, but there are also other things working in the background, and it seems to define the term agonizing for me.

“The Terminal Filter” is the final song, and it’s another rocket-fueled song of hate and rage. Deep guttural are anther addition to the album. The conclusion of the album is just as magical as it started. At its core, it is a raging beast of Black Metal fury—relentless tremolo-picked guitars, battering drums, and vocals that sound like they are being torn from the depths of something primal and wounded. But beneath that seething chaos, there is something else—a hidden world of nuance, melody, and experimentation that refuses to let the album settle into predictability. For those who crave Black Metal that is not just an assault on the senses but a journey through the abyss, this album delivers…and then some. This is a definite early contender for album of the year.