An Ocean Between Us – “Drowning” EP (2009)

Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

Introducing from Italy, An Ocean Between Us, they play modern influenced metal, in the vein of bands such as Bullet For My Valentine, In This Moment and Trivium. It is that style of music that dominates their debut EP “Drowning”.  What do you get on these 5-songs that make up “Drowning” ? 20-minutes worth of seriously intense melodic metalcore, with top-notch guitar riffs aplenty, and the duel male/female vocals of Dan (screaming style) and Kla. I will admit to being somewhat taken aback by the use of the label metalcore to describe their music, but my fears and trepidation were quickly put to rest with the frenzied riffing of the opening track “Reignite the Heart”. The band follow that up with the equally fierce “Shoreless Love Song”. The duel vocals are well done and the band continue to deliver the intensity as can be heard on the final three tracks “Black Will Turn to Grey”, “This Time I’m Holding On” and the EP’s final number “The Path to Your Demise”. The songs are all pretty aggressive and really pack a huge wallop. Even though “Drowning” contains only 5-songs and 20-minutes worth of music, it is really an enjoyable piece of work. The songs include good doses of melody and great guitar riffs. An Ocean Between Us should definitely appeal to fans of the previously mentioned bands and even if you’re not into those bands, An Ocean Between Us are a band that could find mass appeal among varying styles of metal fans.

Rating – 78/100

Tracklist

1. Reignite the Heart
   
2. Shoreless Love Song
   
3. Black Will Turn to Gray
4. This Time I’m Holding On
5. The Path to Your Demise

Line Up

• Kla – Vocals
• Dan – Vocals & Lead Guitars
  
• Nene – Guitars
• Joseph – Bass 
• Marco – Drums