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Oculus E.P.

      
         
         
         
     
             
Oculus are a five piece symphonic rock band from the UK formed in 2012, citing such bands as Tool, System Of A Down and Nightwish as their main influences.    
             
The bands self titled E.P. boasts six songs full of symphonic tinged, yet brutal, crunching, heavy metal with powerful vocals - "welcome to the mother fucking freakshow" screams lead singer James Whitby as the opening song 'Welcome To The Freakshow' comes flying at you, projecting an aura of a travelling circus with a sinister sounding ring master enticing the audience to come forth! Almost folk like in nature, 'Welcome To The Freakshow' is infectious and will easily catch your attention. And with attentions grabbed, the E.P. strides on with 'The Conductor', a hard rocking song with strong, in your face vocals and an irresistible guitar riff that has "crowd favourite" written all over it.    
             
The elegance of the opening two songs is at a sky high level, 'Sandbox' marching in with a traditional "metal scream", giving way to the bands root symphonic rock sound, turning into one hell of a foot stomp as it gets going proper. Replete with an infectious guitar riff, 'Sandbox' features a chorus so catchy that it'll have everyone singing along in unison. The acoustically fuelled intro to 'No One Home' is exquisite, leading into a foot tapping hard rocking song that shows off the vocal range of (singer) James, and the musicianship of the rest of the band - Jake Dawson (guitar), Sam Mason (bass), Patrick McKenna (keys) and Lee Alexander (drums).    
             
'Outskirts Of Misery' swings between slow symphonic rock and all out heavy metal - yes readers "heavy metal". Oculus really mix up their sound here, blending symphonic elegance with an old school metal feel straight outta the glorious eighties! The sixth and final song on the E.P. 'Devil May Cry' continues the metal vibe of the previous song, emanating a darker and more sinister feel than anything else on offer! The vocals too, begin to growl and snarl menacingly, the band widening their musical horizons to new widths - a great ending to a very good E.P.    
             
Overall, an impressive collection of atmospheric symphonic rock (and metal) - well written and constructed with every song guaranteed to plant a big smile on the face of every rock (and metal) fan.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
             
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