Editorial Preface: The following is an interview conducted between the artist …and Oceans and our Contributing Reviewers, Ryan P. (Hawks) and Zach (Dedes). …and Oceans recently released their seventh full-length LP, The Regeneration Itinerary. The new album can be streamed or purchased via their official Bandcamp page.

RYAN: Hey guys! Me and one of my colleagues on the site, Zach, will be conducting this interview and we’re hyped to be able to speak to you! Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to fit us in! First, please just give us a bit of information on the origin of the band and some of the bands that influenced you.

Timo: We started some time ‘95 a years after we stopped with our death metal band Festerday. Sure …And Oceans started with a bit different line-up. But had partly same members as Festerday. These are not the same band as understood wrong in many places online. Our first stuff was a bit mixed with death metal and more technical stuff. Soon we started to take more bm influences into our songs. That was quite natural since that music was coming strong at that time. Emperor for example had an impact with synths taken along etc. We did a few demos and with ‘96 promo we got a deal with Season of Mist and not before long we already recorded our debut. The after we had already that split album and the next album out and went for our first tour with Bloodthorn and Agressor. We might have done something right since Century Media got interested in us and we signed a deal with them in ‘00. Did a couple of records with. For some reason in ‘03-’05 we started to become more and more inactive which resulted so that we ended the deal with CM. Then our style changed quite drastically which led to the birth of Havoc Unit. So …And Oceans was no more. Then in 2017 after one rehearsal we decided to start again and the rest is history. Now three albums after and going stronger than ever. Before mentioned Emperor was surely an inspiration as Dödheimsgard, Limbonic Art, Dimmu Borgir and Gehenna etc.

RYAN: I know you guys went through a hiatus and some lineup changes, what was the inspiration to come back over a decade later?

Timo: We did plan to start rehearsing a few times along the years. Usually when having a party or something, haha. I even rehearsed those songs once. Then in 2017 it was agreed to go to a rehearsal place together in our home town Pietarsaari to check how it goes. We made a video of it and posted it online. All of a sudden Finnish media shared that ‘Is …And Oceans coming back’. Then not before long we got offers for comeback gigs etc. For me personally it was so great to start to play the music I still love the most along with old school death metal. And also later to start composing new stuff with ‘90’s feeling!

We did start with more or less the original line-up, but for personal or practical reasons there were line-up changes and a few a bit later as well.

RYAN: Cosmic World Mother is a top 3 album of the decade for me so far, what went into making that album and how did you guys form a solid lineup to be able to create such a great album?

Timo: Thanks man! Appreciated! Well, I kind of commented on a previous question that it was so great to start making this kind of bm again after so many years. Back then it felt like there was nothing more to give and now it was totally different. It felt like riffs just flew out of me, haha.

Of course the whole band is involved for the end result musically, but main composers are Antti, Teemu and me. We work quite well together. Even though all of us work with their songs separately, but for example when Antti makes a song with keyboards, I have added all the guitars on them and it has worked so well on all these three new albums!

RYAN: Going back a bit to the early days of the band, at that time nobody was making black metal sound as weird and quirky as you guys with all the spacey/industrial synths and weird, unconventional vocals, especially on Symmetry and Cypher, how did you settle on that particular sound?

Timo: It must be the result of several things, wanting to expand and explore. The fact that we listened quite a lot ambient, noise and other experimental stuff eg. Cold Meat Industry bands etc. Also this gives such a freedom to do what we want and not to be stuck in a certain genre or style. I think we are quite known because of that already, haha.

RYAN: Timo, I know you and Teemu are the only original members left in the band, where did you find all of the new members and what inspired you guys personally to reform the group and continue using the …and Oceans moniker?

Timo: I mentioned before that we started with more or less with the original line-up. The reasons for changes were many. New members were old members, old friends or friends of a friend. The reason to come back was the love for this kind of bm and even more so because it wasn’t commonly around anymore. People need to have this kind of music around.

RYAN: Speaking of band names, what was the reason for disbanding …and Oceans and forming Havoc Unit instead?

Timo: The style changed quite a lot and not all members continued with HU so it was quite natural and agreed to change the name.

RYAN: Now that we’re on this path, I’d love to know where the industrial and electronic influences came from. Some black metal bands were experimenting a la Thorns, but you guys really had a cold and dark yet still upbeat electro-industrial sound. What made you guys take the music so far in that direction?

Timo: Kind of answered already earlier. It was the music we listened quite a lot and even more so our keyboard player who came up with these all sounds etc.

Also the fact that we wanted to expand our sound and explore new soundscapes.

ZACH: One thing I noticed was that, whether it be intentional or not, your discography can almost be neatly divided into 3 phases-the more rugged synth-driven oddball black metal records of Symmetry and A.M:G.O.D, the more cathartic and imminent and less synth driven Cosmic World Mother, and the last two albums which seem almost like a clean merging of both worlds to some degree. Do you often view your own music as developing in such phases?

Timo: We have noticed a bit of a similar kind of cycle with the albums we’ve made, but that is not intentional. It has just happened. So none of this is really thought of and planned.

ZACH: This is probably an overwrought question, but I’m sure you’re acutely aware that Finland is an insanely wicked hub for extreme metal, and is renowned for having a thicker overlay of doom and gloom that I think gives rise to such an isolated genre. Would you say being a part of this massive tide of metal makes it more difficult to stand out, or does it work more like a helpful information loop?

Timo: In the 90’s it helped to be from Norway, Sweden or Finland. They had quite special metal scene and it was maybe a bit easier to get record deals etc. Nowadays it might be the other way around, but the thing is the same everywhere. Too many bands, too easy to put your stuff to be heard. Difficult to get attention though. So sometimes it is connections, luck or something else to get the chance to get the recognition you deserve.

ZACH: Are there any particular bands within this scene that you would recommend that might otherwise be flying under the radar?

Timo: Not that much following new bands, but there are great new bands from Finland like Venenum Dei, Moonlight Sorcery, Ondfödt etc.

RYAN/ZACH: Just to kind of wrap things up, what are the band’s future plans? I know you guys are touring for the new album, is there anything else on the horizon that fans should know about?

Timo: Well, we really are trying to do as many gigs as possible, touring etc. Of course new material is already in the making too. That is the only way to stay relevant and be on the way to level up.

RYAN: I would really just like to thank you guys so much for taking the time to speak with us. It’s a dream come true for me to be able to interview one of my favorite bands and one I have been listening to for 2 decades. The floor is yours for any last remarks!

Timo: Thank you for this interview. Just support your fave artists and if you want to see them live, please keep reminding the promoters and festival organizers! See you on the road!

ZACH: And a hearty thank you from me as well. May we be blessed by 30 more years of beautiful, beautiful riffs (just don’t forget the inevitable when you run out of creative steam-a saxophone prog metal phase).

Timo: Thank you! Well, I am 80 by then so maybe I might just be able to do it, haha…