German prog metal veterans The Ocean Collective have unveiled a new track off of their upcoming full-length Panerozoic I: Palaeozoic, their first studio LP in five years since 2013’s phenomenal Pelagial. The new cut, “Devonian: Nascent,” following up the lead single “Permian,” features Jonas Renske of Swedish death doom metal legends Katatonia.
Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic, due November 2nd via Metal Blade Records, serves as the first of two halves of the full album, with the second slated to be released sometime in 2020. The band’s continuance to be less than prolific (to put it lightly) may be frustrating, but the new single certainly seems to prove that it is worth the wait.
“Devonian: Nascent” is an 11 minute epic of a song. The Ocean Collective’s main guitarist Robin Staps describes Renske’s involvement with the song. “We sent Jonas the track, and what we got back as a ‘demo’ was almost identical with what ended up as the final version on the record. Jonas has a perfect and intuitive understanding of our music, there was no need to explain anything. He came up with his own vocal parts and lyrics, and everything just fit perfectly from the start. Katatonia’s The Great Cold Distance was an important album for me and for The Ocean. It was one of the first albums where heavy, low-tuned guitars and clean vocals next to one another were actually working out for me, personally. It was an album that made me reconsider my opinion about clean vocals in metal, and that forged my own desire to look for a vocalist for The Ocean who could also deliver cleans.”
Renkse himself chimed in, “Robin approached me for a guest spot already in 2005, and I really wanted to be part, but at that time we were in the studio ourselves recording The Great Cold Distance, so I felt I had too much on my mind. We have met after that and talked a little about doing something and now it finally happened. I was very intrigued by the song when I got the demo sent to me and I am very happy with the final result. ‘Devonian: Nascent’ became a mammoth track without ever losing its initial melancholy.”
The press release describes the track as starting “off with delay-soaked shoegaze-y melodies and swelling strings, then contrasted by crushing heavy riffs as the next eleven minutes unfold. Renkse’s powerful yet immensely catchy vocals truly shine within the unusual context of the song, gluing the worlds of The Ocean and Katatonia together in a way that surely makes sense for fans of both bands.”
Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic is available here.
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