German prog metallers The Ocean have released a video for their new single Oligocene. The song is taken from the band's eighth full-length album, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic|Cenozoic on September 25 via Metal Blade Records/Pelagic Records.
The new album is a continuation of Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic - the first half of a sprawling, paleontology concept album. You can listen to Oligocene in full below.
"We found this place by accident: the dilapidated ruins of a soviet observatory & research station for cosmic radiation," says guitarist and founding member Robin Staps. "The building itself looked like a spaceship that had crash-landed up high in the mountains, but there were lots of interesting structures scattered across the landscape: concrete cubes, underground tunnels, rusted machinery, fallen power poles and watchtowers. It all looked like taken straight out of Andrej Tarkovsky's Stalker movie."
The instrumental Oligocene was written by drummer Paul Seidel, but recorded with synth player Peter Voigtmann on drums. It serves as a transitional track from the busy and heavy first half of the record (Mesozoic) into the more relaxed, spacious and cold ambient vibes prevailing on the second half of the record (Cenozoic).
Previously the band had released the track Jurassic|Cretaceous which features Katatonia vocalist Jonas Renkse. The band recently announced tour dates for January and February 2021.
Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic|Cenozoic will be released on deluxe edition CD (tri-fold digipak), as an instrumental CD (remus spine digipak w/ UV gloss), a box set completion bundle (tri-fold vocal version CD digipak, instrumental version CD digipak, 2 posters, pin, and sticker). There will also be exclusive bundles with shirts and merch items, plus digital options available.
