Track-by-Track: …and Oceans Dive into ‘The Regeneration Itinerary’

When you have been around a while, like …and Oceans, you are probably pretty sure of what you want to do. And if their brand new Season of Mist album, The Regeneration Itinerary, is any indication, they are quite certain of their intentions. But this, their seventh proper studio album, is not just a rehash of old ideas and past musical glories. It builds off of their musical past, bringing together those sounds and influences and building off of them. Some of the songs might seem more extreme, with heavier guitars or harsher vocals. It brings together the Finnish black metal band’s entire discography, while also carving out a window for deep experimentation. The band has noted it as their most experimental album in years. It’s similar to the music they released in the 1990s, while demonstrating a more confident, evolved sound.

As an album, The Regeneration Itinerary explores the interplay between darkness and light, chaos and order, and the spiritual and material realms. The record represents the continued musical evolution of …and Oceans. With a 30-year history behind them, the band has covered a lot of musical territory in that time. But they continue to push themselves to discover new sounds and new ways of challenging themselves. The ultimate purpose of The Regeneration Itinerary is to act as a guide. The band would like that guide to be left open to a certain degree of interpretation. However, they would like the songs to convey that not everything can just be defined as black and white, or good and bad, or light and dark. There are many layers and complexities to the human experience, which this album draws attention to.

Today, we are joined by singer Mathias Lillmåns and guitarist Timo Kontio for an exclusive Track-by-Track rundown of The Regeneration Itinerary.

1. “Inertiae”

Lillmåns: “‘Inertiae,’ the bringer of paralysis, the guardian of my sleep. The one that opens my eyes, keeps my flesh in stasis, and my mind barely touching the surface. This is a dialogue, like a servant addressing his master, between me and the bane of my slumber.”

Kontio: “We start off with a curveball. This song is maybe a bit darker than a normal …And Oceans song. Though the mid-electronic part is the main thing that raises eyebrows.”

2. “Förnyelse i Tre Akter”

Lillmåns: “Where an actor, a social recluse living only on the theatre stage, sees a light, a glimpse shining through the seams of the dusty old curtains and realizes there’s a whole new world out there. Where the actor becomes the audience and the audience becomes the play itself. ‘Förnyelse i Tre Akter’ is about seeing things in a different light, how to rearrange your perspective in three acts.”

Kontio: “This is more in the vein of old ’90s …And Oceans, but this time I did some different riffing, which someone says to be even more in death metal style, which might be true. That is, though adding some more extremity and aggression to this song, which suits it just great!”

…and Oceans, Mathias in Studio, photo courtesy of …and Oceans

3. “Chromium Lungs, Bronze Optics”

Lillmåns: “To let the ‘Chromium’ in without questioning it. To let yourself become one with the poison just because you are told to. The voice of the Mender is strong, and the flesh is weak. This is the way of many, until one day your thoughts and dreams get so clouded and dim that you can’t see the path anymore. Where will you go from here? Let the bronze in and lead the way to rebirth, or fully hand over yourself to the chromium.”

Kontio: “One of those more experimental ones from Antti. I tried to follow that idea with the guitars I made for this. Really liking the ending with melodic doomy leads.”

4. “The Form and the Formless”

Lillmåns: “The duality of the human being. We are infinite, never-ending, and we are formless. We are also finite, ending, and we have form. Both the form and the formless need to be in equilibrium. The formless is necessary to realize that we are infinite, but it needs the form to manifest itself.”

Kontio: “Again, more in the traditional …And Oceans way done by Antti. Even though there is that one experimental part to spice this up a bit.”

…and Oceans, Timo in Studio, photo courtesy of …and Oceans

5. “Prophetical Mercury Implement”

Lillmåns: “The ‘Prophetical Mercury Implement’ is an existential realization. I was exploring some very deep waters at some point. I could see the mercury dripping from my side, but still wanted more, searching for new dangerous currents to take me further. And I just kept on feeding the destruction until one day I had reached some kind of a threshold. Even though this track is a view from a vast bottomless depth, it also offers a glimpse of the other side, a promise of redemption and transcendence.”

Kontio: “This turned out to be a long and epic one. This is one of the more melodic ones and maybe more of those easy listening ones to compensate for the darker songs on this album. This one has the best leads on this album.”

6. “The Fire in Which We Burn”

Lillmåns: “The journey towards awakening leads us unto broad and narrow paths, through inner and outer maelstroms. When the flesh is scorched enough, we will realize how valuable time is. ‘Life is the essence from which we will learn, and time is the fire in which we burn. The journey through the filters is darkly concealed. Only through fire is the process revealed.’”

Kontio: “Straight in your face song. Short and aggressive, though having that a bit more mellow part in the middle. This is a great song amongst the more melodic and long songs on this album, giving a bit more aggressive sound to the album.”

7. “The Ways of Sulphur”

Lillmåns: “By learning the true ways of sulphur, can you start resisting it. You will think that it leads you to wonderous things, takes you on magnificent adventures. The Creator, The Mender, The Bringer of Sulphur will consume you, convince you that this is the only way, convince you that sulphur is in fact gold.”

Timo: “Going back to the AMGOD era with this one. Rhythmically, quite a special one, but it works like a charm on this album.”

8. “I Am Coin, I Am Two”

Lillmåns: “Only when we begin to understand our final form can we start our process towards spiritual rebirth. Like a coin, we are two halves, and by understanding these two halves, can we start understanding that we are one, just two different sides on that same coin.”

Kontio: “Interesting song with even arpeggio guitar stuff and then, of course, blast beats. Arpeggio and the build-up after that is really the highlight here.”

…and Oceans ‘The Regeneration Itinerary’ album artwork

9. “Towards the Absence of Light”

Lillmåns: “On your way to enlightenment, there will be traps, setbacks and forces making you stray from your true path. By learning from these, you will actually not see them as setbacks anymore, just lessons that have only strengthened you and brought you closer to where you should be. Trust the process and learn from it!”

Kontio: “This is the first song done after the previous album. The tempo change and the riffing on that part are really standing out on this one.”

10. “The Terminal Filter”

Lillmåns: “Approaching the last filter before the final form, it is time to reflect upon what you have seen, experienced and endured. What have you learned on your way here? Where did you end up? What is that final form? Is there actually anything called the final form? Is this really the end? The coming form may vary, will it be one of light or one of soil, copper or mercury? The only thing that is certain is that whatever is on the other side of that grid is where you are supposed to be.”

Kontio: “Strong ending song with majestic keyboards.”

11. “Copper Blood, Titanium Scars” (Bonus Track)

Lillmåns: “This is what I found on the other side of that possibly terminal filter, that last rusty grid. My two halves filled with scars, but with a sense of newly found vigour. Copper to mend those scars, with a promise of gold underneath these obsidian skies. Tools made of bronze to form my own rebirth and to fuse together my two halves.”

12. “The Discord Static” (Bonus Track)

Lillmåns: “A vision of what also can lie beyond what you thought was the last passage. You were served the golden apple, but greeted by static and disorder. Will this be your ultimate end, or embrace the chaos and rise from these rough seas? Will you have the strength for one more round or let that harmonious clutter overwhelm you…”

…and Oceans // Mathias Iillmåns & Timo Kontio, photo courtesy of the band

…and Oceans // Mathias Iillmåns & Timo Kontio, photo courtesy of the band