Seems like Ocean mastermind Robin Staps took this piece about how to tour in China to heart; dude done gone and booked a 10-date Chinese tour for The Ocean! Having met and talked with Staps, I can say the man definitely loves traveling. I’ll bet he set up this tour more as a way to travel across China than as a promotional vehicle for The Ocean… although he’s certainly gotta make ends meet and this tour can’t be cheap. Who knows, perhaps The Ocean have a huge fanbase there?

Of more immediate import to the majority of MetalSucks readers is this: The Ocean are reportedly returning to the U.S. from mid-October through the end of November in a direct support slot for a band that hasn’t yet been named. From The Ocean’s Facebook [via Heavy Blog]:

Right after these dates, mid-October until end of November, we will be returning to the US for the 2nd time this year. We will be direct support this time, playing a 40 minutes set, for a band that we can’t name just yet. We know how much you like speculating about these kinda things, so bring on those rumors…

So. Any ideas? Who will The Ocean be opening for on their U.S. tour? My guess would be it’s a tour that’s already been announced in some capacity.

-VN