Today, Galician hard rockers Ocean Gates premiere the new track “Snake Circle” at Decibel magazine’s website. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Ocean Gates, set for international release on October 5th via Boomland Records on vinyl LP and digital formats. Hear Ocean Gates‘ “Snake Circle” in its entirety exclusively HERE.
Ocean Gates were formed in Ferrol (Galicia), the northwest corner of Spain, in March 2018. The real origin of the band goes back to December 2017 when Moya (drums) and Santi (bass), both now in Inerth, were touring with their former band Looking For An Answer and decided to push the idea of getting a rock band together with Nuria (formerly of Deadmask) on vocals. Soon, both Mito (Holywater/Window Pane) and Rubén (formerly of Ursus) joined on guitars, and the first rehearsals took place in March. The idea was to pay an honest homage to both classic and obscure bands from the ’70s hard rock and psych/prog scene, mixing it with classic doom rock, heavy metal, and proto-punk influences.
And indeed, that is what one will find on Ocean Gates‘ remarkably accomplished self-titled debut – and yet so much more. There is a warmth and immediacy here, a poignant earnestness that’s endearing and inviting, that transforms these eight tracks into more than just “rock songs.” Call it mystique or mysticism or just good, old-fashioned charisma, but Ocean Gates as a unit effortlessly exude a cool that’s inclusive and immersive. Much of that mass appeal is owed to Nuria’s rock-goddess vocals, evincing the wisdom of aeons and the insurgency of youth in equal measure. Behind her, the band bump and grind, pound and plod, throwing a vast array of shapes and dynamics at the listener but always sounding like the same band. This relative diversity of craft hearkens back to older, simpler times, when albums were more like travelogues, experiences that have narrative flow, rather than a set of jingles to be consumed in bite-sized portions.
The band, inspired by both their esoteric landmarks and urban realities, transforms here those sensations and atmospheres into hard-rockin’ yet nuanced songs that are simultaneously familiar and foreign. The bringer of storms, land of shipwrecks, smugglers, and old cults: the Atlantic Coast is indeed the perfect landscape for their music. The cracks in the wall of a dying industrial town… Hopeless jobs, abandoned homes, and shrinking population… Collective depression and illegal affairs…
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Snake Circle” exclusively HERE, courtesy of Decibel, North America’s only monthly metal magazine. Also hear the previously revealed “Royal Dockyard” HERE at Boomland Records‘ official YouTube channel. Cover artwork, courtesy of Alejandro Tedín at Heresie Design Studio, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Ocean Gates’ Ocean Gates
1. The Equinox Warriors
2. Snake Circle
3. Night Shift
4. Stormchild [Trespass cover]
5. On the Way Out
6. Beyond the Veil
7. Royal Dockyard
8. The Curse
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/Ocean-Gates-111639466970450
www.oceangates.bandcamp.com
