…AND OCEANS Unveil Music Video For New Track ‘Within Fire And Crystal’
December 12th, 2022
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Finnish symphonic black metal band …And Oceans have released a music video for the track ‘Within Fire And Crystal’. Created by Aarni Visuals, the clip can be viewed below.
Regarding the song, frontman Mathias Lillmåns said: “A journey through tongues of fire, towards the crystal walls. And to return with the Key from the Observer.”
…And Oceans issue sixth full-length studio album As In Gardens, So In Tombs on January 27th, 2022 through Season Of Mist.
The outing can be streamed in its entirety via YouTube below.
“Well for me starting to do (previous album) Cosmic World Mother was more nerve wrecking and even in doubt whether we should make new music or not. In the end it was quite an easy project to do, to our relief,” commented guitarist Timo Kontio. “So when we started to make this album, it was more relaxed and more or less go with the flow mentality. We had the first ‘difficult comeback album’ done, and everything came quite easily! It was really refreshing to make this kind of music after so long.”
“I was only supposed to produce guitars for Cosmic World Mother,” vocalist Mathias Lillmåns added, “but a month before the recordings were supposed to start, my phone suddenly rang. I could sense that this phone call was going to be important when I saw it was Timo calling. I was asked to join the band and also to write lyrics for the whole thing. Immediately when I saw the first version of the (album) cover, I got this vision of what the concept of the album would be, and I wrote most of the album in sort of a frenzy with the next few weeks.”
“It’s strange with the new album,” Lillmåns continued, “because I have always been forced to use tight deadlines for myself when writing music or lyrics. It seems I need the pressure to create something I’m happy with. Also, for some reason I get most done when traveling, I used to take trains to nowhere just write sometimes back in the day! This time there were no pressure, no traveling, and I was not on the edge of a burn out, and it went smoother than ever before! The lyrics just kept on coming, not as fast and not in such a trancelike frenzy as the last album, but good stuff on a steady basis.”
Drums and bass were recorded at D-studio, whereas guitars and vocals were recorded at SoundSpiral Audio. Keyboards and electronics were recorded at Ryijy’s cave, meanwhile. Production and sound engineering was handled by Juho Räihä. Mixing and mastering was completed at Necromorbus Studio by Tore Stjerna.
As In Gardens, So In Tombs “feels grander and more melodic,” Lillmåns noted. “I think stepping up the production also was something that helped in this sense! Having Juho Räihä at SoundSpiral Audio taking a bigger role in the recording and having it sent over to Tore Stjerna at NBS Production definitely made it sound more massive and took a load off our shoulders to focus on the music itself!”
For lyrical inspiration, Lillmåns “went back to gardens, moved away from the city into the nature. I always felt like I needed to be in a dark place to create lyrics that came from the heart, ‘when the body suffers, the mind flowers,’ kind of state. This time I was at ease, and it was surprisingly efficient. I usually don’t want to spoil too much and having people to think for themselves, but yes, I had the time to sit down and read during the pandemic and came to some conclusions (as in nature, so in books). I think it’s a very calming thought, that whatever happens, whenever it happens, makes no difference. We have always and always will be a part of the circle of eternal energy; we have always existed and will always exist in some form. A notion that became ever so clear when reading up on different religions, worldviews, customs, and philosophies.”
Cover artwork was designed by Adrien Bousson.
The track listing is as follows:
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01. ‘As In Gardens, So In Tombs’
02. ‘The Collector And His Construct’
03. ‘Within Fire And Crystal’
04. ‘Carried On Lead Wings’
05. ‘Likt Törnen Genom Kött’
06. ‘Cloud Heads’
07. ‘Wine Into Water’
08. ‘Inverse Magnification Matrix’
09. ‘The Earth Canvas’
10. ‘Ambivalent God’
11. ‘Samlarens Valv’ *
12. ‘Third Eye Catalyst’ *
* bonus track
…And Ocean’s line-up is as follows:
Mathias Lillmåns (vocals)
Timo Kontio (guitars)
Teemu Saari (guitars)
Pyry Hanski (bass)
Kauko Kuusisalo (drums)
Antti Simonen (keyboards)
Created by Guilherme Henriques, music videos were released for the tracks ‘Cloud Heads’ and ‘The Collector And His Construct’. Both clips can be viewed below.
Fifth studio record Cosmic World Mother was released in April 2020 via Season Of Mist.
Promotional photograph by Markus Laakso.
