Berlin post-metal band The Ocean will release their twelfth studio album, Solaris, on September 25 via Pelagic Records. The record, recorded at Hansa Studios and mixed by Jens Bogren, features an expanded international lineup and draws thematic inspiration from Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 film Solaris alongside the journals of historical explorers including Magellan and Vasco da Gama, exploring humanity's obsession with discovery and conquest as Earth becomes increasingly uninhabitable.
Berlin atmospheric post metal visionaries The Ocean will release their twelfth studio album, Solaris, on September 25 via Pelagic Records.
Solaris follows 2023's Holocene and marks the beginning of a new chapter for the band, introducing an expanded international lineup while returning to the cinematic, crushing sound that made albums like Pelagial and Phanerozoic modern progressive metal landmarks.
Following from Light Pollution, & Belligerence the band have unveiled the album's third monumental single, Ultima Esperanza.
Ultima Esperanza (Spanish for “last hope”) is the first half of the 20-minute closing piece of Solaris. and is also the name of the southernmost province on the South American continent, named after the inlet known as Última Esperanza Sound. The inlet was given its name by Spanish navigator Juan Ladrillero in 1557, who hoped it would offer a passage to the Strait of Magellan. Instead, it leads to a glacier — and ultimately, a dead end.
The band comments: “Ultima Esperanza explores the intrinsically human notion of hope as the driving force behind all explorative endeavours, and loss thereof. It is a reflection on mental resilience, tracing the different stages of losing hope and the mind’s remarkable tendency to keep projecting it even onto the most dire realities, as an instinctive means of survival.”
Solaris combines the narrative of Andrey Tarkowsky's 1972 film of the same name with existential contemplation inspired by the journals and records of real-life Earthian explorers. By poring over the historic documents related to explorers such as Da Gama, Magellan, and Sir Frances Drake, Solaris draws parallels between the cosmic explorations of Tarkovsky’s film, the explorative nature of artists and current-day political leaders.
Once again, the Berlin-based post metal collective has joined forces with film maker Craig Murray for a breathtaking, visceral music video. Ultima Esperanza could be interpreted as a prequel to the first single and music video, Light Pollution.
The themes of Solaris pick up where Holocene left off. With Earth rendered increasingly uninhabitable, humanity embarks on a desperate voyage into space aboard a celestial rescue vessel. Drawing inspiration from Andrei Tarkovsky's classic 1972 film Solaris, alongside the journals of explorers including Magellan, Vasco da Gama and Ernest Shackleton's contemporaries, the album examines humanity's obsession with discovery, progress and power, asking whether exploration is driven by curiosity or conquest.
Solaris also marks a significant evolution for The Ocean themselves. Following major lineup changes after the Holocene touring cycle, founding guitarist Robin Staps has assembled a revitalised collective featuring new vocalists Enrico Tiberi and Lane Shi alongside new guitarists Emmanuel Jessua and Marco Gennaro. The refreshed lineup combines familiar sonic weight with new textures and dynamics while retaining the unmistakable identity that has defined The Ocean for more than two decades.
The album was recorded at Berlin's legendary Hansa Studios and mixed by Jens Bogren, whose previous work with The Ocean includes Pelagial and both Phanerozoic albums. Guest appearances include Tangerine Dream's Thorsten Quaeschning, Playgrounded's Orestis Zafiriou and Spurv trombonist Simen Eifring.
SOLARIS TRACK LISTING
52°30'11" N, 13°26’12“ E
Departure Song
Light Pollution
Simulacra
Belligerence
Ultima Esperanza
Milk Of My Dreams
51°28'30" S, 73°6'11” W
Solaris will be released on September 25 via Pelagic Records.
Pre-orders are available now:
https://orcd.co/theocean-solaris
Merch, Bundles and Boxsets available here
wildthingmusic.com/collections/the-ocean
DISCOGRAPHY
Fogdiver (2003) • Fluxion (2004) • Aeolian (2006) • Precambrian (2007) • Heliocentric (2010) •
Anthropocentric (2010) • Pelagial (2013) • Phanerozoic I (2018) • Phanerozoic II (2020) • Holocene (2023)
The Ocean are
Robin Staps – guitar, vocals
Mattias Hägerstrand - bass
Jordi Farré – drums, percussion
Enrico Tiberi – vocals, keys
Lane Shi – vocals
Emmanuel Jessua – guitar
Marco Gennaro – guitar
In addition, the following musicians performed on this record:
Thorsten Quaeschning – keys
Orestis Zafiriou – keys
Simen Eifring – trombone
Jiawei Zhang – vibraphone
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