EP Review: Iōhannēs – “The Ocean” (Atmoblack)

Written by Espi Kvlt

It’s hard to believe the single person behind Iōhannēs is just 21 years old considering their incredible output of music, which is rich, diverse, and bountiful. I have had the immense pleasure of watching their project progress and touch on everything from black metal to death metal to prog to sludge. Iōhannēs seems determined to not allow themselves to fall into a single box, and they have done a wonderful job at doing so. Their new EP, The Ocean, is no exception to this. As the debut release for Syrup Moose Records, this album had a fairly high standard to set for a baby label, and it did exactly what it needed to do, cementing Iōhannēs’ place in underground metal and setting its label up as one to watch.

This little EP opens up with a beautifully titled song, “Pale Foam of Mourning”, which packs a huge punch from the get-go and gets its audience immediately invested with hooky riffs and the familiar and punchy voice of the band’s sole member. While the music may change, Iōhannēs’ voice keeps us grounded in their world, which is something I appreciate when listening to a musician who is so experimental with their sounds. There tends to be one thing that grounds you to some artists’ music regardless of what genre it is; for example, with Joey Jordison, I’d recognize his drumming on any project. With Iōhannēs, it’s their stellar voice. The song is also bookended with ocean sounds, and honestly, they were kinda white noise to me at the beginning, which was cool because then Iōhannēs’ voice kicked in about twenty seconds in and immediately demanded my attention, screaming at me to listen, listen now! Then, at the end, the ocean sounds were familiar, though I’d already forgotten why, and they brought me back down to the theme of this release: the ocean. It’s an interesting contrast that uses the same exact sound to capture completely different feelings at completely different parts of the song that I truly appreciated.

We are then greeted with “The Ocean Pt. 1”, and believe you me, the sound effects were no longer possible to ignore. I’m not sure if it’s a boat horn or a whale song at the beginning of this, but either way, it had me fully captivated and unsure of what on earth I was about to hear. The guitar strums that followed made my heart pause for a moment. There was a shiver, then chills as the guitars and effects danced together, and then the strings kicked in, and then bam! Iōhannēs’ voice returns with a vengeance as the guitars shriek and the drums kick in. Despite the movement from a soft song to a fast one, it remains ethereal throughout. This song feels like riding along the waves of the sea, which give you moments of relief before hitting you full force with their ferocity, and then immediately stopping, leaving you floating along the surface and wondering when the next torrent of water will come.

The next torrent of water comes immediately. “The Ocean Pt. 2” opens up as a heavy black metal song with blast beats that made it difficult for me to focus on much else besides the quick guitar solo and acoustic section, as they demanded my attention and were catchy as hell. An acoustic section in the middle of this wildfire of music may seem out of place, but Iōhannēs managed to fit it in perfectly, making it feel like a slowing down of the waves as opposed to a complete and sudden directional change. It’d be very easy to mess this up and leave me confused, but instead I was drawn into the song the entire time, and again, could not get my ears off that sweet drumming.

Our final song on this album is “Vessel On the Edge of the Sea.” It’s completely different from the others, choosing instead to be a synthy little number with some noise elements scattered throughout. Its somber tone and mournful instrumentation left me walking away from this album with a deep, unnamable sorrow. I was rooting for whoever was in this vast ocean, picturing a sort of Captain Ahab character, who unfortunately, like the titular protagonist of Moby Dick, lost his battle with what I would say is the protagonist of this album: the ocean.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Iōhannēs may be young, but their music has the mastery of someone long performing metal. The Ocean is an EP which builds upon their catalogue and propels them forward in new and exciting ways. Fans of all genres of metal will find something to enjoy here, though this album is certainly not one to listen to if you aren’t prepared to be bummed out, as the ending leaves a lasting gut punch. The story told herein is rarely something accomplished on a full LP, let alone an EP, but Iōhannēs has done it.