THE OCEAN Mainman: 'If A Band Breaks, It Happens In The U.S., Not In Europe'

MetalKult.com has just posted the first in a series of on-the-road tour reports from THE OCEAN's mastermind Robin Staps.

The lead singer/composer for the Berlin, Germany metal collective will be providing weekly updates from his band's inaugural tour of the U.S. Joining THE OCEAN on this tour are WITHERED, KYLESA and LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR. THE OCEAN is touring behind its recent Metal Blade release, "Precambrian". In this first update, Staps reports from his group's trek through Boston, Wallingford, CT, New York, Chicago and Nashville.

Here is an excerpt from Staps' New York City entry:

"America. There are certain aspects and qualities of life here that are awesome. Free refills, huge meals, real Mexican food, no highway tolls on most highways, the fact that you're allowed to drive ridiculously huge trucks, like our 30 feet RV, without a special license...

"The nowadays seemingly peaceful coexistence of people from all over the world in a cultural melting-pot like NYC is fascinating. America may not have the same history as Europe, yet some of the most interesting contemporary art and music are coming from this country and have had a significant and lasting impact on the European scene to the degree that nowadays, in a lot of ways Europe seems to follow everything that is happening in the U.S. with a 6-12 months delay.

"This is also true for metal. Bands like MASTODON or GOJIRA have been big in the U.S. before anyone took serious notice of them in our home country, Germany. I have picked these two because one is a European and the other an American band. But it doesn't make a difference. If a band breaks, it happens in the U.S., not in Europe. And then there is the nasty side of the story... The whole metalcore trend originated in the U.S. and washed over Europe like a giant radioactive tidal wave coming from the west, contaminating every Swiss mountain village with more cheesiness than the motherland of cheese had ever seen before..."

Go to MetalKult.com to read the rest of Staps' report.

Hungarian metal magazine "Kettngy" recently uploaded an interview with THE OCEAN conducted prior to the band's May 11, 2008 concert in Budapest, Hungary. Watch the footage below.