The Ocean (also known as The Ocean Collective) have just debuted an animated music video for their calming new song "Oligocene," which counters the heaviness of the first single, "Jurassic | Cretaceous" that featured a guest vocal spot from Katatonia's Jonas Renkse.

The new track is a relaxed, atmospheric piece of mood music written by drummer Paul Seidel, though it was synth player Peter Voigtmann who actually played drums on the song. "Oligocene" offers a refreshing breather for what is shaping up to be another densely atmospheric album from The Ocean as they inch closer to the Sept. 25 release of Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, the sequel to 2018's Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic.

The clips seen in the video were shot in the Aragats mountains in Armenia during the summer of 2019 on The Ocean's "Siberian Traps" tour.

"We found this place by accident: the dilapidated ruins of a soviet observatory & research station for cosmic radiation. 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," said guitarist and founder Robin Staps.

Speaking about the album, he continued, "Phanerozoic II is more experimental, more eclectic in musical style and direction, and more varied in terms of tempos, beats, guitar work and the use of electronics. This was an intentional choice: We wanted Part I to feel rather streamlined and to have a strong cohesion between the individual songs. We wanted to create a certain vibe to linger from the first until the last note throughout the whole record. We kept the weirder, more daring and more progressive material for Part II."

View the "Oligocene" video directly below and listened to the first Phanerozoic II single further down the page, where you'll also find the new album art and complete track listing. Head to the Metal Blade webstore to pre-order your copy.

The Ocean, "Oligocene" Music Video

The Ocean, "Jurassic | Cretaceous" (Feat. Katatonia's Jonas Renkse)

The Ocean, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic Album Art + Track Listing

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1. "Triassic"
2. "Jurassic | Cretaceous"
3. "Palaeocene"
4. "Eocene"
5. "Oligocene"
6. "Miocene | Pliocene"
7. "Pleistocene"
8. "Holocene"

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