The Rock Blogger

Ocrilim. Annwn. 2008. 3 stars.

You can file this one under wtf. Ocrilim is the brainchild of avant garde/metal guitarist Mick Barr whose incredibly fast math rock compositions are the sole attraction on this 60 minute plus album. No drums, no bass, just relentless shredding that will either completely hypnotize you in its rapidity or drive you to commit murder.

Like other avant-garde metal artists Sunn O))) and Barr’s own Orthelm, Ocrilim’s technical assaults are focused on developing the artist’s distinct musical language rather than crafting songs. While Ocrilim’s mathematical exercises are certainly progressive and awe-inspiring in their technique, the monotonous nature of these 7 untitled tracks may be too overpowering for those expecting a conventional metal record.

This is experimental music that should be approached as a work of art, rather than being codified within a specific genre. I would recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by by Barr’s intense virtuosity and won’t be put off by Ocrilim’s sparse and noisy production. To give you an idea of what Ocrilim is about, I found this YouTube video of Barr performing in NYC. Enjoy.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 10:55 am and is filed under Reviews, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.