Many have been waiting on new music from Birmingham progressive metalcore outfit Oceans Ate Alaska, teased by the return of original vocalist James Harrison which saw barnstorming singles “Metamorph” and “New Dawn” dropped across the last two years. Today, the group bring us another surprise single in the form of “Nova“, and an official announcement of their forthcoming album, Disparity. As it would happen, it is much closer than expected, set for a September 1st release date — just in time for the Birmingham quintet to play these new songs live on their upcoming UK tour in September. The record will be the group’s third studio album, second with Harrison on vocals, and the first taste of new music since 2017’s Hikari.
“The trials and tribulations faced by the band in order to get this release out into the world have been plentiful, painful, unavoidable; but a necessary process,” the band remarked. “Disparity has taken a tremendous amount of work and our only wish is to do every aspect of its existence justice, this music deserves it and you – the listeners – deserve it too. Without all your support along the way, it wouldn’t have taken its final form, we wouldn’t be making this special announcement today.” Besides the imminent release date, perhaps the most surprising element is the inclusion of I Prevail‘s Eric Vanlerberghe on the savage-sounding “Dead Behind The Eyes“.
This final single, “Nova“, deals with the oppression of modern society and how it easy it is for that to overwhelm the mental state; depression, self-pressure, overload, until it seems like self-destruct is inevitable. Musically, it is everything there is to love about Oceans Ate Alaska: chaotic rhythms, dissonance, menacing vocals, and surprises littered throughout with every tempo switch. “Nova mirrors the inner human disparity, and has you banging your fucking head to it.” With this latest track and a new record fewer than two weeks away, fans are about to be rewarded immensely for their patience. Oceans Ate Alaska are well and truly back.
Disparity will be released September 1st via Fearless Records. You can pre-save the record here, and view the tracklist and album artwork below. For a full review of Disparity, further news on the progressive metalcore scene, and an interview with Oceans Ate Alaska later in the month, stick with Boolin Tunes.
01. Paradigm [2:45]
02. Nova [3:32]
03. Metamorph [2:44]
04. Shallow Graves [3:19]
05. Sol [3:21]
06. Dead Behind The Eyes (feat. Eric Vanlerberghe of I Prevail) [3:01]
07. Plague Speech [2:45]
08. Disparity (Interlude) [1:33]
09. Empty Space [3:15]
10. New Dawn [1:49]
11. Hallucinogen [4:14]