The fact that the album is available as an instrumental shouldn't be entirely dismissed. This allows the music to shine through even more than on the version with vocals. This doesn't mean that the vocals are so far in the forefront that they actually suffocate the music; far from it. The instrumental version is naturally breathes more freely due to the absence of the vocals that tie things up. It does however come to its own very nicely without the vocals, and that's why _Pelagial_ is such an impressive effort.

Musically speaking, Robin Staps has always led The Ocean to tread the treacherous lines between progressive and post-metal while frequently shelling out technical segments to mix things up even more. This reached its peak on the massive _Precambrian_ and it's still there on _Pelagial_. The names of the eleven tracks come from the different layers of the ocean, and they begin at elevation zero with "Epipelagic", which is just an introductory track with the sound of bubbles as something (or someone) dives into the water. Just like any journey of exploration, it begins with a rather optimistic vibe before the reaching the darker recesses that eventually reveal the desired answers. "Mesopelagic" comes next with that initially positive-sounding vibe, but then the vicious riff and driving drum beat come in create a strong basis for the very well executed vocals.

"Bathyalpelagic", the first of three mini-series, starts with Loïc Rossetti screaming at the top of his lungs as the music becomes more dynamic and a little bit more technical. It carries the burden of self-questioning and the attempts of fighting one's demons, but as we go deeper, "we sink through boundless vasts". The two part "Abyssopelagic" goes even deeper, with the magnificent "Signals of Anxiety" creating a massively stirring turning point in the middle of the album. The last of the mini-series, "Hadopelagic", and its follow-up piece, "Demersal", see the pressure pounding even more. The drums become less about the masterful chops and more about the sheer heaviness of it all.

As the light grows dimmer and blue gives way to black, hopes of rising back to the sun become ever so slim. The second half of "Demersal" and the ending piece "Benthic" superbly doom things up and compound the pressure beyond relief. In the last few seconds of it all, the guitar wails for a bit, then there's some eerie feedback. The bubbles come back for a while... and then they stop.