Moving forwards from 2007’s rather good Mirror Palace, Belgian six-piece Oceans Of Sadness have developed their sound well for this, their sixth full-length. Starting with Roulette, the gasps of a man drowning soon develops into pleasantly Proggy gentleness before adding the Death/Thrash influences that gives the band its particular oomph. Vocalist Tijs switches between deep cleaning singing and mad howling snarls, growling but occasionally, and it’s a good mixture, fitting in well with the other instruments. And speaking of the other instruments, all are excellent. Although the keyboards handle most the melody and the guitars are backing, there are still riffs a-plenty, and the playing is never less than stellar.

Of course, Progressive Metal stands or falls on its songwriting, and fortunately Oceans Of Sadness have outdone themselves. From the atmospheric dirge of Some Things Seem So Easy, with its touches of Tool and My Dying Bride, to In The End with guest vocals from Johan Liiva, there’s not a song on The Arrogance Of Ignorance that’s poor or filler. Subconscious makes excellent usage of female vocals, from guest Annlouice Loegdlund of Diablo Swing Orchestra, but would be an excellent song even without her fantastic contribution. Failure takes a modern Dream Theater approach at first, a more Thrashy direction leading into a gentle, 70s-esque Prog Rock section, whilst Self-Fulfilling Prophecy focuses on the Gothic elements in the band’s sound.

The Arrogance Of Ignorance isn’t quite as perfect as it could be; songs do take a couple of listens to enjoy properly – and not always in a good way – and the lyrics are sometimes rather silly, a couple of ‘come to daddy’ and ‘three two one, go!’ moments spoiling the experience. All in all, although the individual songs are good in their own right, the album as a whole does leave you rather unsatisfied, as there’s no discernable payoff or benefit to be had by listening to the tracks in order than randomly. Of course, these are petty, small issues; make no mistake, this is a great piece of Progressive Metal that avoids the usual pitfalls and takes its influences from the heavier side of the steel as much as the lighter. Fans of Prog Metal should definitely check it out.

MySpace