Plasmic Ocean, a German Prog/Alt Metal band, have released their 2nd CD entitled Phobia, featuring 13 tracks of brooding Progressive twists and turns, coupled with a bit of melody and electronic nuances. Filled with oddly voiced and borderline annoying vocals, Plasmic Ocean's songs are a test to your ability to focus on the mundane. Songs like "Soliloquy", "Misfire", "Pressuretime", and "Strange Allusion" all fly the flag of what is Prog, but they also seem to come up short.
Sighting influences from Black Sabbath to Yes, Plasmic Ocean really don't measure up or deliver the goods very consistently and just flat out miss the mark here on Phobia. Musical performances are interesting and also overly filled with Synth stylings, but it's the vocals that kill it for me. Add in sound bites from movies and a speech from former US President George W. Bush and you're not quite sure what these guys are trying to get across. Also having a high pitched, mono-toned generic Prog Rock vocalist that only distracts from the songs does not help Plasmic Ocean's cause. This is a release that just kind of gets under your skin and annoys rather than grabbing much enjoyment from it. This record won't be setting the Prog Rock community on its ear.
Track list
1. Cheat
2. Go Fly The Kite
3. Rupert Turner's Meal
4. Soliloquy
5. Misfire
6. RG 70
7. Quiescence
8. Pressuretime
9. Strange Allusion
10. Subsonic
11. Michelangelo
12. Sirensong
13. Ulterior Motive
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