…and Oceans: Cosmic Black Metal for the World

…and Oceans: Cosmic Black Metal for the World

The almighty …and Oceans has returned, unleashing Cosmic World Mother via the Season Of Mist compound – their first masterwork in 17 years!  Featuring members of Finntroll and Festerday, …and Oceans is presenting their next compelling chapter of symphonic black metal devastation and the results are vibrantly epic in scope! Highwire Daze recently caught up with two members of the …and Oceans brigade to discuss the dynamic Cosmic World Mother and their vast and glorious metal legacy.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in …and Oceans and how long the band has been together.
Timo: I play guitar. This band was born in ’95, but was put to rest in ’05. After first rehearsals late 2017 we’ve been active again. Have had a few great gigs and festivals here in Finland and a few abroad.

Mathias: I’m the singer, that joined the ranks last year!

Is there any overall story or concept behind the Cosmic World Mother album title?
Mathias: I always find myself writing concept albums. Once I get a theme everything around it just starts to unfold. This album’s theme is based upon energy and how energy affects us as human beings. As stated by laws of physics, energy is eternal, you never loose any, it just changes form. Which means that the energy we use and are made of has always been around and will forever be. That we all are, have been and will be a part of the “Cosmic World Mother”.

Who did the cover art for Cosmic World Mother and how much input did you have on it?
Timo: Adrien Bousson did it along the whole artwork on the album which is beyond awesome! That cover is inspired by one Russian painter. Basically Adrien made it step by step and sent us previews. We gave suggestions if needed.

Mathias: The artwork really goes hand in hand with the theme of the album. I made the concept around that front cover and then sent finished lyrics to Adrien to make individual paintings around the words.

What has it been like to release your first full length album in years right in the middle of a pandemic?
Timo: It is difficult to support the release at least. Then it may delay distribution as it seems to do. We decided to release it on the schedule though since the promotion was already been ongoing for some time etc.

How did Mathias Lillmåns of Finntroll become involved with …and Oceans?
Timo: He is a long time friend. I have shared and still share other bands with him. I and we knew what he can do, so it was really natural to ask him to join. Also the schedule was really tight so we certainly didn’t have time to arrange any auditions for a new singer. When you get older you really value more and more the chemistry in the band.

When you look back on the previous …and Oceans albums A.M.G.O.D. and Cypher, what do you think of them now?
Timo: Some great stuff for sure, but maybe not that great as a whole. They were something we wanted to do at that time. We are gonna add some of the songs on the set list also… some killer tunes.

What was the last live show you performed before the pandemic and how did the show go?
Timo: Last show was in Turku here in Finland. Turku Saatanalle festival on the 7th of March. That was the first with Mathias. We were not supposed to do any gigs before the release of the album, but they had a cancellation and offered us the spot so we took it.  It went great considering the circumstances. Being the first gig with Mathias and not that much rehearsing before it.

When the world is reopened, what could one expect from a live …and Oceans show?
Mathias: Hopefully we can go out there soon and show them what …and Oceans have to offer. Lots of old-school songs, of course, and some new fresh material to top it off! The set definitely has a lot of energy.

Will we have to wait another 17 years for the next …and Oceans full length?
Timo: Certainly not. New stuff is already in the making.
Mathias: Yes, heard a couple of brand new songs and even wrote lyrics for one already!

Are you currently involved with any other bands outside of …and Oceans?
Timo: Yes, I have Festeday. Old school death metal. I have also Magenta Harvest, but that is more or less on a hiatus since we don’t have a drummer.

Mathias: Yes, we put Magenta Harvest on ice for a while now. I also joined Festerday for a couple of shows, so that is also going on. The new Finntroll album was just mastered and sent to the label, so that means I will be out there with those guys as well to tour as soon as travel bans are lifted. Also working on my punk band Dispyt’s second full length as we speak. So lots going on! Hehehe.

What is your favorite Finnish beer of choice and why?
Timo: Wow, there are so many nowadays. I don’t drink that much those more known Finnish beers like Lapin Kulta, Koff and Karhu anymore. I like more beers from small breweries, craft beers. Mostly IPA’s for the taste.

Mathias: Same goes for me. Going more to smaller craft breweries to get my beers. I’m a stout and porter guy right now, but like those IPA’s as well as Timo.

What’s up next for …and Oceans?
Timo: Waiting for gigs and festivals. Tour plans for next year. In the meantime we already do some new stuff for the next album so that we and you don’t have to wait another 18 years for it. So we really hope that this situation gets better soon.

Mathias: Right now we are trying to re-schedule as much as possible of those shows we had. Stay tuned for some info on those!

Any final words of wisdom?
Please check our new album and hopefully we see at gigs.

Line-up:
Timo Kontio – Guitar
Mathias Lillmåns – Vocals
Teemu Saari – Guitar
Antti Simonen – Keys
Kauko Kuusisalo – Drums
Petri Seikkula – Bass

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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