Hear the Ocean's Sprawling New Jellyfish-Inspired Rager | Revolver

Hear the Ocean's Sprawling New Jellyfish-Inspired Rager

Previously unreleased "Turritopsis Dohrnii" appears on upcoming comp

It's been nearly a decade since guitarist Robin Staps founded Pelagic Records, best known for putting out albums from the likes of Mono, Cult of Luna, and of course, his own band, post-metal outfit the Ocean. Later this fall, Pelagic will release In the Twilight, These Rocks Have Teeth, a double-CD, 30-song compilation featuring tracks from across the label's eight-year history. (You can pre-order it here). The first disc showcases its post-rock offerings (including "Nord," a Cult of Luna cut that was heretofore available only on vinyl), while the latter focuses on the heavy stuff, such as "Turritopsis Dohrnii," a previously-unreleased Ocean song making its world premiere right here, right now. The sprawling rager dates back to the sessions for the Germans' most recent album, 2013's Pelagial.

So what the hell is a "turritopsis dohrnii," anyway? Allow Staps to explain:

"Turritopsis dohrnii is a jellyfish that lives in the Mediterranean; it is the only immortal species on Earth. Jellyfish are weird creatures.They start their lives as polyps, which are basically something closer to a plant than to an animal, something that grows on a rock. These polyps reproduce asexually, by cell division. The result becomes the free-swimming medusa, a jellyfish. Jellies then reproduce sexually, before they die ... except this little guy here. Once the adult form of the species have reproduced, they revert back into their juvenile polyp state. They shrink, their tentacles disappear and they sink to the ocean floor to start their unique life cycle all over again — and not just once, but infinitely.

"This track begins and ends with the same part, reflecting that eternal cycle. Learning about this tiny creature made me think about how we are desperately striving for physical rejuvenation and intellectual immortality — the other side of the coin is the fact that we barely see any old people these days. In a city like Berlin, everyone is young, healthy and pretty. Elder people get locked away in homes that most of us will never get to see or visit, unless we have family members unfortunate enough to become old."