By now, everyone knows how I feel about Oceano. Many of you read – and weighed in on – my five star/horn review of their debut Depths, stayed abreast of the controversy that ensued, and joyously celebrated my subsequent return (with interview in tow) to the MetalSucks fold. It should have come as no surprise that Depths claimed the #2 spot in my own Best of 2009 list. So you can imagine how I reacted when I learned, via Oceano’s MySpace blog, that they’re going back into the studio this year to record the follow-up to that record.

A year after completing the recording of their hugely successful 2009 debut, Depths, Chicago’s deathcore heavyweights, OCEANO are heading back into the studio to record their follow-up. Set for release later this year, the new album will tell a story that promises to open eyes and deliver a more mature experience than many might normally expect. “Expect us to go deeper than Depths this time around, and not just meaning heavier;” says vocalist, Adam Warren. “This is more than just our sophomore album. It is a great vision to be accomplished when all of the pieces we’ve worked so hard to create – art, music, lyrics and overall atmosphere – come together.”

The strength of Depths lay in its inadvertent adherence to Oceano’s Dadaist and Fluxus forbearers in the context of the burgeoning deathcore scene. Warren’s statement above suggests the band members have acknowledged and even accepted their role in that tradition of noise composition, which gives me hope that this as-yet-untitled sophomore album will further mine the sonic void they’ve already broached. I am slightly troubled that the band will be working on the record with Zeuss, a producer known for his work with acts like Whitechapel, Born of Osiris, and Shadows Fall. Still, if Oceano can keep their melodic death metal dabbling to a minimum, they could easily surpass their debut in terms of inscrutability and disharmony. Anyway, I’m sure by the time this is released I will finally have tired of Ke$ha’s infectious, cacophonous debut to give it a proper listen… and maybe even a review.

Perhaps some of those new compositions will be part of Oceano’s set when they play a hometown show at Chicago’s Metro on Saturday February 13.

-GS

[Gary Suarez usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]