The history of The Ocean begins in 2000 when guitarist Robin Staps moved to Berlin with the intention to materialize his vision of the band The Ocean. The next two years he spent looking for musicians through advertising in local newspapers and magazines. In 2002 they finally appear for their first time on stage in a sold-out club in Berlin. Now, in 2005, The Ocean release their fourth full length album through Metal Blade. “Aeolian” is a lot heavier than his predecessor “Fluxion”. The music from this band is still very difficult to get into. Within one song a lot of things happen. For example “Austerity” features changes in tempo, melody, vocals and even some orchestral parts.

As a result of the long playtime of each track, one is easily disturbed and the loss of attentiveness is therefore very high. Don’t get me wrong, the musicians of this band are very skilled (I really like the screaming parts) and this album is very well played but the tracks simply last too long. I think this band wants to take us on a musical journey. The Ocean also released a 7 inch split with Burst on Garden Of Exile and a 7 inch record on Futher Mocker last month. Both releases are very limited so if you’re in to The Ocean check those out quickly.