As for 2013, 4 of 5 band members are from Switzerland, while its founder continues to live in Berlin. In addition, Chris Breuer, a touring bass player who also made a recording appearance on Pelagial, is a citizen of Berlin too. Breuer is touring member who is filling in for Louis Jucker (who has gone on hiatus due to his desire to finish university studies) for all shows in 2013, also has recorded some parts for band's 6th album "Pelagial" released in the same year.
The Ocean was founded in 2001 by guitarist and songwriter Robin Staps. During the following two years, about 40 musicians joined and left the band until a stable line-up was established. July 2002 saw The Ocean play their first concert at Berlin's now defunct semi-legal Eimer Club. Shortly after, the band released their eponymous debut album featuring Islands/Tides, a 30-minute-long song that also constituted the substance of their early live shows.
After a brief tour with Swedish crust punk outfit Coma in early 2003, the band signed to Make My Day Records, which then released Fogdiver, an EP consisting of five instrumental songs—despite the fact that on stage, at least two singers could be found. Unlike its predecessor, this recording received considerable acclaim from critics throughout a variety of genres.
During winter and spring 2004, The Ocean recorded what was to become the material for their two following albums. The calmer and more atmospheric half of this recording session was released as Fluxion in August 2004; a joint effort of Make My Day and Throne Records. While the fact that the band now used vocals on their recordings seemed to make the music more accessible to some, it also caused many other critics to consider the album a step backwards in terms of innovation and originality. In interviews, the band would comment on this by pointing out the perceived closed-mindedness of some of the reviewers and their supposed inability to deal with the harshness and brutality the anti-Christian, anti-theistic vocals now added to The Ocean's sound.
After signing to Metal Blade Records in summer 2005, all the remaining songs from the session were released as Aeolian. Since Fluxion and Aeolian had originally been planned as a double CD with a mellow and a brutal part — a plan that did not work out — Aeolian came across as very different from its predecessor. Unlike on previous albums, classical instruments and electronic sounds were hardly used here, making the record sound rather minimalistic. But whereas Fluxion had featured only one singer, seven of them could be found on Aeolian, among them Nate Newton, Sean Ingram, and Tomas Hallbom, whose names were also used extensively for the album's promotion campaign. According to the band, Meta's voice on Fluxion had created a monotony that was to be avoided on Aeolian. March 2006 saw the North American release of the album. Later that year, a joint vinyl version of Fluxion and Aeolian was released by Throne Records, featuring three records in different colors. Recently in late 2007, they released a new 2 disc album entitled Precambrian. In April 2008, The Ocean embarked on a year long tour through Europe and North America with bands like Intronaut, Opeth, and At The Gates. In April 2009 it was announced that primary Precambrian vocalist, and full time touring member Mike Pilat was leaving the band for personal reasons and other commitments.
On November 17, 2009, Robin Staps announced that a replacement vocalist had been found, Loïc Rossetti. The Ocean released two albums in 2010, Heliocentric on April 9 and Anthropocentric on November 9. Taken together, the two albums "represent a fundamental and philosophical critique of Christianity," with Heliocentric describing the internal battles within the Catholic Church over the heliocentrism of Copernicus and Galileo, and Anthropocentric critiquing the fundamentalist Protestant view of Creationism.
They announced that their first live DVD would be filmed on the 29 January 2011 in Berlin at the Museum für Musikinstrumente and will only contain tracks from their album Precambrian.
On August 3, 2011, The Ocean announced via its Facebook page that Robin Staps had been working on new material for an upcoming album. They stated that recording would get under way in early 2012 and hinted at the possibility of releasing another double album. In a September 2012 article on the website MetalSucks, Robin stated that the new album was due for an April or May release in 2013 and would have very few if any vocals, but elaborated that Loïc remains the vocalist of the group despite the change in style.
The band released Pelagial on April 29, 2013 in the United States. The CD version contained two discs - one has the songs with vocals, the other is purely instrumental.
On October 20, 2013, the band announced the departure of guitarist Jonathan Nido and drummer Luc Hess. It was later announced that Paul Seidel of the band War From A Harlots Mouth would replace Hess after the current tour. Additionally on the 8th of December Robin Staps announced via the bands Facebook page that Australian Damian Murdoch would be the bands new guitarist.
Anthropocentric
The Ocean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The metaphysics of the hangman are taken off the walls
Of our living rooms,
Humanity emancipates
Christ. Statues fall and die of age,
Just like us: inorganic decay.
The myths of the martyrs have waned --
No longer do we mourn their loss.
Their children dance and play their games
In the shadow of the great old white cross.
Wealth heals all wounds and alleviates any kind of pain.
The shroud of the collective oblivion coats any individual scars.
The widows of the skeptical have passed away before they could retaliate.
And, those who baptized the world with the sword have long been buried,
And have not arisen from their graves.
The guardians of righteousness have lost their immaculity.
The rise of the enlightenment has defeated Christianity.
But, its legacy of fear and submissiveness prevails
In many brave man's heart and soul:
The saddening conception that humanity cannot choose its own destiny.
With our lives based on the hope for salvation,
The humanist paradigm is nothing but a charade.
Condemned to inertia; a passive race,
We wait and contemplate.
And, even in these days and age some people still believe
That Earth is at the center of God's own universe,
And that man was made the 7th day, evolution is a myth,
And that even bones of ancient creatures are no evidence
Of the fact that we are not the end of the chain.
And they won't leave their ship that is sinking.
They refuse to leave their ship that is sinking.
And, while they spoke of grace and love, forgiveness from above,
They nailed thousands of non-believers to their crude symbol of love
And, they won't leave their ship that is sinking.
They refuse to leave their ship that is sinking.
The myth that man is the crown of God's creation
Breeds the excuse to deplete the Earth today.
The myth that man is the crown of God's creation
Supports our present anthropocentric misconception.
And, even in these days and age some people still believe
That Earth is at the center of God's own universe,
Of the fact that we are not the end of the chain.
And, they won't leave their ship that is sinking.
They refuse to leave their ship that is sinking.
The myth that man is the crown of God's creation
Breeds the excuse to deplete the Earth today.
The myth that man is the crown of God's creation
Supports our present anthropocentric misconception.
The Ocean's song "Anthropocentric" is a critique of the human-centered worldview that dominates many religious and cultural traditions. The lyrics begin by reflecting on the fall of religious iconography and the passing of traditional myths and martyrs. The singer suggests that these symbols are no longer necessary for humanity to be emancipated from its dependence on religious dogma. However, the legacy of fear and submissiveness that Christianity and other religions have instilled in many people still remains. The singer suggests that this is a result of the humanist paradigm, which posits that salvation is only possible through the grace of a higher power, rather than through human action.
The song then takes a turn towards environmentalism, as the singer critiques the idea that man is the "crown of God's creation." This anthropocentric worldview, the singer argues, has led humans to deplete and exploit the earth without regard for its long-term sustainability. The song's titular term, "anthropocentric," refers to the idea that humans are at the center of the universe, and is a critique of this self-centered way of thinking.
Overall, "Anthropocentric" is a powerful statement against religious dogma and human-centered worldviews, arguing that humanity needs to shift towards a more sustainable and equitable approach to the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
As the symbols of
As the representation of
The metaphysics of the hangman are taken off the walls
The beliefs of those in power that led to death and oppression are being removed
Of our living rooms,
Of our private spaces and daily lives
Humanity emancipates
Humanity frees itself
Christ. Statues fall and die of age,
The idols of Christian faith are crumbling with time
Just like us: inorganic decay.
Just like our physical bodies decaying after death
The myths of the martyrs have waned --
The stories of those who died for their beliefs are no longer as strong
No longer do we mourn their loss.
We no longer grieve over their deaths
Their children dance and play their games
The offspring of those martyrs live normal lives
In the shadow of the great old white cross.
Under the influence or reminder of Christianity
Wealth heals all wounds and alleviates any kind of pain.
Money can solve most problems and ease any discomfort
The shroud of the collective oblivion coats any individual scars.
The ignorance of society hides individual traumas
The widows of the skeptical have passed away before they could retaliate.
The widows of those who doubted or questioned authority died before they could fight back
And, those who baptized the world with the sword have long been buried,
Those who imposed their beliefs through force are now dead and gone
And have not arisen from their graves.
They have not returned from the dead to continue their actions
The guardians of righteousness have lost their immaculity.
Those who claimed to be righteous have lost their purity
The rise of the enlightenment has defeated Christianity.
The Age of Enlightenment challenged and overcame Christian beliefs
But, its legacy of fear and submissiveness prevails
The fear and passive nature instilled by Christianity still exists
In many brave man's heart and soul:
In the hearts and souls of many courageous individuals
The saddening conception that humanity cannot choose its own destiny.
The depressing idea that humans don't have control over their fate
With our lives based on the hope for salvation,
Our lives centered around the desire for salvation
The humanist paradigm is nothing but a charade.
The humanistic value system is just a facade
Condemned to inertia; a passive race,
Condemned to a lack of action and passivity
We wait and contemplate.
We wait and think
And, even in these days and age some people still believe
Even now, some people still hold the belief
That Earth is at the center of God's own universe,
That the Earth is the most important part of a divine universe
And that man was made the 7th day, evolution is a myth,
That humans were specially created on the seventh day, and that evolution isn't true
And that even bones of ancient creatures are no evidence
That even fossils are not proof
Of the fact that we are not the end of the chain.
That humans aren't the final link in the chain of life
And they won't leave their ship that is sinking.
And they refuse to abandon their doomed beliefs
The myth that man is the crown of God's creation
The belief that humans are the most important beings to God
Breeds the excuse to deplete the Earth today.
Leads to the justification for exploiting and destroying the Earth
Supports our present anthropocentric misconception.
Enables our current human-centered worldview
Contributed by Isabella H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.