After five years and what seems like an infinity of teasing, The Ocean has announced the first half of their double album Phanerozoic I: Palaezoic to be out on November 2. The album is the first to feature keyboardist Peter Voigtmann, bassist Mattias Hägerstrand and drummer Paul Seidel, and you can check out their collectively obliterating efforts on the nearly-10 minute crusher "Permian: The Great Dying" below.
Here's what founding guitarist Robin Staps had to say about the album.
"Nietzsche's concept that everything happens over and over again, an infinite amount of times throughout infinite time and space. When you look at Earth’s history you find a lot of evidence for this: continents have collided and drifted apart across the oceans and collided again, life nearly disappeared various times but then resurged again… this album is essentially about time, perception of time, and repetition. It is about coming to terms with the fact that there are things in life which will recur and which we cannot change and finding ways of dealing with that."
Phanerozoic I: Palaezoic was recorded at Sigur Ros' own Sundlaugin Studios and at studios in Berlin. The album features Katatonia vocalist Jonas Renkse on the song "Devonian," and the whole thing was mixed by Jens Bogren (Katatonia, Opeth).
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJntMFh0E70][/youtube]
