'Anthropocentric,' the latest opus from The Ocean, was one of 2010's most critically acclaimed albums. On the record's 10 tracks, the German act expertly navigate through a myriad of musical styles and moods, all without losing command over the material. While other groups try to cram a hundred riffs into a song just for the sake of sounding technical, The Ocean clearly understand how to write progressively while retaining an organic feel.

The Ocean have been traversing the world on several tours in support of 'Anthropocentric.' They are currently traveling across North America alongside Between the Buried and Me and Job For a Cowboy.

Early on in the tour, the band filmed a live teaser and sent it to Noisecreep for an exclusive premiere.

Watch The Ocean's tour video


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The second date of the tour found The Ocean playing the main stage at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. Judging by most reports, they stole the show.

'Anthropocentric' is the second in a two album series following 'Heliocentric' [April 2010]. Both records are lyrically threaded together by their critique of Fundamentalist Christianity and Christianity.

"As far as the concepts behind 'Anthropocentric' are concerned, the focus is on man and his place in the universe: at the center, as many fundamental Christians still claim today, or more likely a dust particle in its periphery," said the band in a statement. "All lyrics are circling around this question. 'Anthropocentric' will continue the critique of Christianity, inspired by the questions that Dostoyevsky asked and some of the answers that Friedrich Nietzsche and Richard Dawkins gave."

The Ocean was founded in 2001, when guitarist Robin Staps leased the basement of a former aluminum factory from World War II in the heart of Berlin-Kreuzberg. After a few weeks of daily construction work, Oceanland was born – a large underground complex of recording studio and sleeping rooms, where many members of The Ocean would spend the bigger part of the upcoming few years of their lives. The band's live show was conceptualized and refined here, and over the years, a collective of musicians from classical as well as rock music backgrounds formed around Staps. Four albums were recorded at Oceanland before the band was evicted in 2008.

Since then, the band went on to record 'Anthropocentric' and 'Heliocentric' in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

The Ocean tour dates (with Between the Buried and Me and Job For a Cowboy):

9-May Dallas, TX The Door

10-May Tulsa, OK The Marquee

11-May Memphis, TN New Daisy Theatre

12-May Atlanta, GA The Masquerade

13-May Nashville, TN Rockettown

14-May Asheville, NC The Orange Peel

15-May Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall (The Ocean only)

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