Oceans (Esprit D'Air album)

Oceans is the second studio album by London-based British-Japanese rock band Esprit D'Air. It was released on February 18, 2022, through the band’s own Starstorm Records with a distribution partnership with AWAL and Plastic Head Distribution. Work on the album began in 2018, but was halted due to the theft of producer and singer Kai’s laptop and backups in 2019, which delayed new singles and the album releases.[4]

Oceans
Studio album by
Esprit D'Air
ReleasedFebruary 18, 2022
Recorded2018-2021
GenreElectronicore, djent, power metal
Length1:16:00
LabelStarstorm
ProducerKai
Esprit D'Air chronology
Constellations
(2017)		 Oceans
(2022)
Singles from Oceans
  1. "Calling You"
    Released: May 11, 2018
  2. "Serafine"
    Released: August 31, 2018
  3. "Amethyst"
    Released: February 19, 2019
  4. "Leviathan"
    Released: December 4, 2020
  5. "Kurenai"
    Released: March 19, 2021
  6. "Nebulae"
    Released: April 30, 2021
  7. "Glaciers"
    Released: June 11, 2021
  8. "Guiding Light (Reimagined)"
    Released: July 23, 2021
  9. "Tsunami"
    Released: September 4, 2021
  10. "Sōhō Raia"
    Released: October 15, 2021
  11. "Deai (Orchestra Mix)"
    Released: November 26, 2021
  12. "The Abyss (feat. Ryo Kinoshita)"
    Released: February 11, 2022
  13. "Dead Zone (feat. Ben Christo)"
    Released: March 11, 2022
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Digest60/100[1]
Metal Planet Music[2]
MetalTalk[3]

Esprit D'Air completed the album in late in 2021 after successfully crowdfunding the album.[5] Oceans is a very genre-fluid album containing various metal and rock genres with elements of electronics and piano. It was produced entirely by Kai with collaborations from session musicians and featured artists including Ben Christo from The Sisters of Mercy and Ryo Kinoshita from Crystal Lake, and Japanese vocaloid artist UmiKazeTaiyou.[6]

Composition

Critics have identified the style to be genre-fluid with various tracks ranging from djent and electronicore to power metal and post-rock. The use of digital synthesizer is prevalent in most tracks, much like their debut album Constellations.[7]

Singles

Esprit D'Air released multiple singles from the album including their most popular song "Leviathan", which premiered on Loudwire,[8] as well as songs such as "The Abyss" featuring Ryo Kinoshita from Crystal Lake, and "Dead Zone" featuring Ben Christo from The Sisters of Mercy.

Critical reception

Despite lack of support from major press and radio, "Oceans" peaked at #13 in the UK's rock and metal albums charts, and #7 in the independent albums charts.[9]

The release of "Leviathan" garnered some praise from peers with The Sisters of Mercy's Ben Christo stating of the song, "It's a really unique blend of djent, industrial, electro, goth, emo, metal and much more. I love the dramatics and cinematic quality it has, with haunting, melancholy colors swooping betwixt the cruel, relentless jaws of the machine."[10] Michael Falcore of The Birthday Massacre stated that "Leviathan" is a "wonderful song, feels like a modern day opera with heavy guitars set on fire! Melancholic and haunting, the vocals cut deep. A truly inspired song."[11]

About the track, "Dead Zone", Richard Shaw, the guitarist of Cradle of Filth stated, "Catchy and atmospheric, with incredible vocals and an otherworldly guitar solo. What a song!".[12]

Tour dates

Esprit D'Air announced a string of tour dates to perform songs from the Oceans album, including an album launch party at the O2 Academy Islington, London.[13]

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue
Date City Country Venue
British Isles
20 February 2022 London England O2 Academy Islington
30 July 2022 London The Underworld
31 July 2022 Newcastle upon Tyne The Cluny 2
1 August 2022 Glasgow Scotland The Garage (G2)
2 August 2022 Manchester England Rebellion

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Into the Oceans"1:45
2."Tsunami (津波)"2:49
3."Leviathan"4:49
4."Ocean's Call"2:55
5."The Abyss (feat. Ryo Kinoshita)"3:22
6."Dead Zone (feat. Ben Christo)"3:44
7."Nebulae"2:58
8."Amethyst (Album version)"4:24
9."Sōhō Raia (双方ライアー)"3:58
10."Sazanami (漣)"4:28
11."Guiding Light (Reimagined)"3:45
12."Calling You"3:12
13."Distant Waves"2:12
14."Glaciers"5:52
15."Moonlight Tides"2:09
16."Deai (出逢い) (Orchestra Mix)"5:50
17."Leviathan (HEAVYGRINDER Remix)"4:16
18."Kurenai (紅)"4:16
19."Serafine"5:24
20."Leviathan (Shirobon Remix)"3:51

Personnel
  • Kai – lead vocals, guitar, bass, drums, piano, synthesizer, production, programming, recording engineer, art direction & typography
  • Paul Visser – mixing & mastering engineer (all tracks except 1, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19 & 20)
  • Ryoma Takahashi – co-producer & writer (track 2 & 14)
  • Yusuke Okamoto – co-producer & writer (track 4)
  • Takeshi Tokunaga – co-producer & writer (track 10), bass (track 3, 10 & 14)
  • Yoshisuke Suga – writer (track 16)
  • Tatsuya Nashimoto – producer (track 16)
  • Jan-Vincent Velazco – drums (track 14 & 18)
  • Sougo Akiyoshi – drums (track 7 & 8)
  • Ryo Kinoshita – additional vocals & lyrics (track 5)
  • Ben Christo – additional vocals & lyrics (track 6)
  • Lewis-Jon Somerscales – disc & inlay innerpage artwork
  • Alex Kie – photographer
  • Heavygrinder – remix engineer (track 17)
  • Shirobon – remix engineer (track 20)

Charts
Chart performance for Oceans
Chart (2022) Peak
position
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[14] 30
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[15] 38
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[16] 13

References
  1. Helen Elizabeth Wilson (March 14, 2022). "Esprit D'Air – 'Oceans'".
  2. Paul Monkhouse (February 25, 2022). "Album Review : *Esprit D'Air – 'Oceans'". United Kingdom.
  3. "Esprit D'Air / Oceans is something to celebrate and admire". Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  4. Kahmel Farahani. "Esprit D'Air / Oceans is something to celebrate and admire". MetalTalk. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  5. "Esprit D'Air launched crowdfunding for second album "Oceans". AVO Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  6. "Esprit D'Air to collaborate with members of The Sisters of Mercy and Crystal Lake in new album Oceans". MetalTalk. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  7. "Conquering The Oceans With ESPRIT D'AIR". HEAVY Magazine. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  8. Chad Childers. "Japanese Metal Band Esprit D'Air Seek Resilience Through Connection in 'Leviathan' Video". Loudwire. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  9. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  10. Chad Childers. "Esprit D'Air Seek Resilience in 'Leviathan' Video". Noise Creep.
  11. Dave Bruce. "ESPRIT D'AIR releases their 10th Anniversary Live Album". AMNplify.
  12. "Esprit D'Air Releases New Single + Lyric Video "Dead Zone" ft. Ben Christo (The Sisters of Mercy) Taken From New Album 'Oceans'". Rock Your Lyrics. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  13. "Esprit D'Air announce UK tour dates and reaches #13 in the UK Official Charts". Esprit D'Air. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  14. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  15. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  16. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
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