Artist: THE OCEAN
Album: PHANEROZOIC II: MESOZOIC | CENOZOIC INSTRUMENTAL VERS. (DIGI)

Release date: 25.09.2020
EAN/UPS: 039841572025
Media type: CD

•    New album from progressive metal behemoths THE OCEAN!
•    In September 2020, The Ocean are poised to release the eagerly-awaited concluding parts of the Phanerozoic journey.
•    In contrast with the compositional directness of Phanerozoic I, the new album – Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic - is a vastly more progressive and perverse piece of work.
•    Divided into two sections – Mesozoic and Cenozoic – Phanerozoic II once again showcases the detail and depth that have become two of The Ocean’s most enduring trademarks.
•    For fans of BREACH, ISIS, TOOL, MASTODON, KARNIVOOL, PINK FLOYD, CULT OF LUNA, RUSSIAN CIRCLES, MONO and OPETH


On September 25th, The Ocean will release their 8th full-length, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, via Metal Blade Records (CD / digital) and the band's own Pelagic Records (vinyl). In 2018, The Ocean released Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic - the first half of a sprawling but superbly cohesive paleontology concept album. Now, the group is ready to release the eagerly-awaited concluding parts of the Phanerozoic journey.

Widely hailed as their finest work to date, Phanerozoic I brimmed with moments of wide-eyed melodic brilliance, alongside the expected warping and weaving of post-metal conventions. "The first part of 'Phanerozoic' really is a 'no-regrets' album, which is quite rare," says guitarist Robin Staps. "Maybe even the first time I can ever say that."

In contrast with the compositional directness of Phanerozoic I, the new album - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic - is a vastly more progressive and perverse piece of work. "'Phanerozoic II' is more experimental, more eclectic in musical style and direction, and more varied in terms of tempos, beats, guitar work and the use of electronics," notes Staps. "This was an intentional choice: we wanted Part I to feel rather streamlined and to have a strong cohesion between the individual songs. We wanted to create a certain vibe to linger from the first until the last note throughout the whole record. We kept the weirder, more daring and more progressive material for Part II."

Tracked in Iceland, Spain and Germany and produced by esteemed studio guru Jens Bogren, Phanerozoic II is underpinned by some of the most imaginative and challenging music that The Ocean - completed by drummer Paul Seidel, keyboard maestro Peter Voigtmann, bassist Mattias Hagerstrand and guitarist David Ramis Åhfeldt - have made yet. Divided into two sections - Mesozoic and Cenozoic - the album once again showcases the detail
and depth that have become two of The Ocean's most enduring trademarks. While ostensibly delving into the extraordinary realities of the Earth's shifting temporal tides, Staps and his comrades have long drawn hazy parallels between their chosen subjects and the emotional experiences that their music strives to convey. Phanerozoic II is essentially an album about time, with some very poignant and pointed allusions to the modern world woven into the new music's spiritual fabric.

TRACKLIST CD/ LP:

MESOZOIC
1. Triassic
2. Jurassic | Cretaceous  (featuring Katatonia's Jonas Renkse)

CENOZOIC
3. Palaeocene
4. Eocene
5. Oligocene
6. Miocene | Pliocene
7. Pleistocene

8. Holocene (BONUS TRACK CD/ 2LP)