Clegane - Ocean Of Black Thoughts (Album Review)

Release Date: October 02nd 2026. Record Label: Almost Famous. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Ocean Of Black Thoughts - Tracklist

1.Abandoned Temple Fate 09:48

2.Luminose 06:31

3.Mutt 03:49

4.A Room Full of Strangers 08:12

5.Sun Decay 05:31

6.Ocean of Black Thoughts 08:24

Review

Ocean Of Black Thoughts is the third album from Doom/Grunge/Sludge Metallers Clegane and is my first experience with the band and I’m massively impressed from this record alone. As Clegane combines classic Grunge elements with a violent style of Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal which is superbly dark throughout the album. There is a bleak and unrelenting vision that appears from every angle of this record where the band’s intense vocals and violent lyrics pulls no punches to whoever listens to the album.

There are diverse influences such as Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Monolord and Melvins which you can hear but Clegane still maintain their own great identity within the album especially within the more grounded Grunge sounds and themes on tracks such as Abandoned Temple Fate, Luminose, Mutt and Sun Decay. I also admire how the band switched from playing long drawn out instrumental passages to a more direct riff-centric approach with an epic “DOOM & GLOOM” delivery holding everything together.

The vocals are another highlight where Clegane employs a wide array of different styles with clean vocals and harsh growls all being fully utilized for maximum potential. Clegane embraces a sinister Post-Punk and Post-Doom attitude within the more stripped back elements of the album where you fully appreciate the classic Nineties Heavy Rock/Heavy Metal attitude that appears at different times of the album. 

The record can be deliberately slow at times but this allows Clegane to experiment with different Post-Punk atmospherics that soon transform into a heavier style of Post-Metal that becomes quite relentless and highly unforgiving. Clegane also has a great way of creating SONIC based soundscapes which adds a layer of surreal level of psychedelic energy to make things slightly over the top at times but it works superbly well.

Ocean Of Black Thoughts is quite a dark and vicious album but one that is emotionally rewarding when everything is said and done. Clegane offers no apologies for delivering a highly uncomfortable record but it’s one that’s packed full of massive grooves of the highest order which can be quite jaw-dropping to hear at times. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Ocean Of Black Thoughts is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Almost Famous.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

French Doom/Grunge Metal power-trio Clegane unveiled new single "Sun Decay".

French doom/grunge metal power-trio Clegane crank every amp up to 11 and drag grunge straight into the darkest depths of doom on their crushing new single, “Sun Decay”.

Loud. Gloomy as hell. Suffocating and cathartic in equal measure.

“Sun Decay” feels like wandering aimlessly through the streets of Paris on a sweltering summer day — the heat closing in, the air running out, and every attempt to find meaning leading deeper into the void.

Built on saturated, granular riffs, a deep, punishing rhythm section and raw, weathered vocals, the track follows a slow loss of control: a life stripped of values and purpose, decaying into inertia, isolation and collapse.

A life like a rotting sun.

The single offers the first glimpse of Clegane’s new album, Ocean of Black Thoughts, out October 2 via ALMOST FAMOUS label (POINT MORT...).

... For the record...

Formed in 2015, Clegane have spent the past decade carving out a singular path between the disillusioned weight of ’90s grunge and the crushing gravity of modern doom. Instinctive, minimalist and deeply introspective, the French trio have built their identity around saturated, granular riffs, deep drums and raw, weathered vocals — turning the darker corners of human existence into music that feels both brutally physical and intensely personal.

That trajectory began with their self-titled debut EP in 2017, followed by 'Funeral at Sea' and a split with Father Merrin in 2018, 'White of the Eye' in 2022 and a split with Fatima in 2023. Across each release, Clegane have progressively expanded their sound without abandoning its primitive core, pushing beyond doom and grunge while preserving the tension and emotional weight that have defined them from the beginning.

That evolution has unfolded just as fiercely on stage. From underground squats in Switzerland to the Purple Stage at Hellfest in 2025, Clegane have developed a reputation for visceral, immersive performances that drag audiences under before pulling them back into the darkness.

Now, 'Ocean of Black Thoughts' marks the band’s most ambitious transformation yet. Breaking down their own stylistic boundaries through richer drumming, deeper work on effects and new vocal nuances, the album moves from eruptions of rage to regret-soaked contemplation — while remaining rooted in the raw, instinctive force that has always driven Clegane.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Thanks to Score A/V Group for the deteails.