Cetacean began in 2015 with a line-up that includes members of Ancestors, Horse the Band, Trae Malone, Black Sheep Wall, and Exhausted Prayer). With their album, Breach/Submerge, you are treating yourself to 3 songs of epic, somewhat experimental proportions. Based out of Los Angeles, the band is known for creating "blackened progressive metal," but morphs its way through a number of styles within their lengthy compositions.
If I were to generalize and slap a single label on the sound, it'd probably be post-metal. Sludge fits as well, but the breadth and scope of these meandering tunes aren't quite so A to B. In any case, to simplify so much would be missing out on what Cetacean seems to be all about: atmosphere at any cost. "You know what would fit nice here? A saxophone. Go get one." "Let's do some totally chill cleans here. Yeah, I know we were JUST screaming our lungs out. Go with it." This is what I imagine the writing process must be like.
Like the forceful verbs making up the title of Breach/Submerge, the album is an unstoppable force filled to bursting with highs and lows. Some passages make me want to pull out a beanbag chair and blacklight, others make me want to make the metal bulldog face. Cetacean are one moment sharing the stage with Alaskan, and others getting down with the smooth jazz. Somehow these opposing forces ebb and flow in perfect equilibrium.
The end result's mood and aesthetic, I feel, have much in common with WRVTH's self titled 2015 album. While this one is grounded in some heavier genres and lacks any elements of "core," the fact remains that they invoke a similar sense of both melancholy and urgency. Whatever you may think, it seems undeniable that these guys are seasoned (or just plain gifted) songwriters. The varied drums, guitars, and vocal approaches really do build something greater than the sum of their parts. Stream the album in full below.