The Deep Blue
Antartic Abyss

THE REVIEW

There is a gap in the journey that Sleep started in 1991 with "Volume One" and that Om completed in 2007 with "Pilgrimage." A gap that prevents an easy transition from "Dopesmoker" to "Variation on a Theme." Between the two records, the path breaks, creating a void that forces us to interrupt the linear journey drawn by Sleep, make a leap, and land on the other side where the path trodden by Om takes us to calmer and more meditative places.

In 2007, "The Deep Blue" debuted with "Antarctic Abyss," an album that serves as a "bridge from the past". Two tracks, each thirteen minutes long, where Doom and Stoner are carried by a chanting voice, two tracks with which the trio builds a temple in honor of their inspirations.

The three guys show that they grew up under the star of Sleep, and when this transformed into the Om supernova, they remained attentive, picking up every sound radiation. It is clear that they have played "Sleep’s Holy Mountain" extensively and that "Conference of the Birds" has been played repeatedly on their stereo systems.

What is not heard in this record, however, is the evolution that the fusion of the two paths could generate, and it is not heard because the two paths, together, do not lead to evolution but rather take a step back. A step back to that period between 2003 and 2005 when Sleep’s path stopped, and Om’s had not yet been traced.

Listened to today, this album is the ideal bridge that unites the two paths.

A bridge upon which  one can smell the history of Stoner.