Riding the tide of the progressive metal scene is New Jersey’s Black Ocean, with their debut album SEA OF DARKNESS. This hard-hitting four piece features longtime friends and songwriters Steve Hunter (guitars, vocals) and Jay Burchfield (drums, vocals), rounded out by Zach Blickos on lead guitar and Tim “Chigger” Louie on bass. Black Ocean’s influence range from Metallica, Dream Theater, Rush, Sabbath, Slipnot, Tool, Life of Agony and so many others, which they blend into a hardcore sound with technical prowess and vocal style that separates them from most mainstream rock bands out there today.Is this new to you? Catch up here
Live, Black Ocean has already made an impact on the Jersey metal scene, sharing the stage with Garden-State thrash/metal legends Faith or Fear and Monster Magnet. This is a band best seen live, as they match their crowd’s energy pound-for-pound on their hard-hitting tracks like “Compromise,” “Strung Out,” the stand-out fan favorite “Crawl,” and the epic “Dogleash.” Black Ocean also shows their broader musical development in the vocal harmonies of “Inner” and the melodic “Next.”
Black Ocean is currently playing select shows in support of SEA OF DARKNESS, released on Philadelphia’s TOIL RECORDS label, which is now available on all major music download services.