"Ophiacantha Oceani", a new brittle star fossil discovered by palaeontologists Dr. Lea Numberger and Dr. Ben Thuy at the Natural History Museum of Luxembourg, was named after Berlin progressive metal band The Ocean to celebrate their palaeontology-inspired music.

"Musicians who so skillfully combine arts and science, composing albums like Precambrian (with songs named after the periods of the Precambrian), Pelagial (with songs named after the bathymetric subdivisions of the water column) and Phanerozoic as well as the song ‘Turritopsis Dohrnii’ referring to the immortal jellyfish from the Mediterranean, are more than deserving of being immortalized in the fossil record," comments Dr. Ben Thuy, Natural History Museum of Luxembourg, Palaeontology - Research & Collections Curator.

Watch the video below, and read more here.

On September 25, The Ocean will release their 8th full-length, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, via Metal Blade Records (CD / digital) and the band's own Pelagic Records (vinyl).

In 2018, The Ocean released Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic - the first half of a sprawling but superbly cohesive palaeontology concept album. Now, the group is ready to release the concluding parts of the Phanerozoic journey.

For a preview of Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, a video for the new single "Pleistocene" (directed by Craig Murray) can be found below.

The new album can be pre-ordered here in the following formats:

- Deluxe edition CD (tri-fold digipak)
- Instrumental CD (Remus spine digipak w/ UV gloss)
- Box set completion bundle (tri-fold vocal version CD digipak, instrumental version CD digipak, 2 posters, pin, and sticker)
* Exclusive bundles with shirts and merch items, plus digital options are also available

Widely hailed as their finest work to date, Phanerozoic I brimmed with moments of wide-eyed melodic brilliance, alongside the expected warping and weaving of post-metal conventions. "The first part of Phanerozoic really is a 'no-regrets' album, which is quite rare," says guitarist Robin Staps. "Maybe even the first time I can ever say that."

In contrast with the compositional directness of Phanerozoic I, the new album - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic - is a vastly more progressive and perverse piece of work. "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," notes Staps. "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."

Tracked in Iceland, Spain and Germany and produced by esteemed studio guru Jens Bogren, Phanerozoic II is underpinned by some of the most imaginative and challenging music that The Ocean - completed by drummer Paul Seidel, keyboard maestro Peter Voigtmann, bassist Mattias Hagerstrand and guitarist David Ramis Åhfeldt - have made yet. Divided into two sections - Mesozoic and Cenozoic - the album once again showcases the detail and depth that have become two of The Ocean's most enduring trademarks. While ostensibly delving into the extraordinary realities of the Earth's shifting temporal tides, Staps and his comrades have long drawn hazy parallels between their chosen subjects and the emotional experiences that their music strives to convey. Phanerozoic II is essentially an album about time, with some very poignant and pointed allusions to the modern world woven into the new music's spiritual fabric.

Staps explains, "The outcome is a record that is a real journey. It starts in one place, and concludes in a totally different place. In a way, it relates to 2013's Pelagial, which was similar in that it was also a journey: but a more guided, focused and predictable one. Phanerozoic II on the other hand is closer to the experience of free fall."

Tracklisting:

“Triassic”
“Jurassic | Cretaceous”
“Palaeocene”
“Eocene”
“Oligocene”
“Miocene | Pliocene”
“Pleistocene”
“Holocene”

"Pleistocene" video:

"Oligocene" video:

“Jurassic | Cretaceous” feat. Katotonia’s Jonas Renske:

(Photo - David Robins)