For more than a decade, Ocean of Illusions have carved out their own corner of extreme music, refusing to remain confined to a single sound or formula. From the conceptual world of Unrecognizable to their upcoming EP and the crushing singles “Nexus” and “Doomed,” the band has continued to evolve while keeping the individuality that made them who they are in the first place.
What makes Ocean of Illusions particularly interesting is that their evolution hasn’t come from simply chasing whatever is currently popular. Instead, it has come from four musicians bringing completely different perspectives to the same room. Melodic instincts, filthy low end, riff-focused writing, and an almost obsessive concern with whether something will make a crowd move all collide to create their sound.
Speaking about the band’s evolution, the group explained that they’ve always tried to keep pace with the changing landscape of heavy music while maintaining their own personality. Even through lineup changes, their goal has remained simple: keep showing up and keep the sound recognizable without becoming stagnant.
That willingness to experiment became particularly important during the pandemic. While the world effectively came to a standstill, the band’s creative drive didn’t disappear. If anything, the isolation gave Zach, who takes the lead on creating the band’s lyrics, an opportunity to become more deliberate and intentional with the writing. Lyrics were given additional attention, allowing stories to develop naturally and connect from song to song. Their love of nerd culture also found its way into the material, with influences ranging from Dungeons & Dragons to anime, alongside recurring instrumental motifs and callbacks designed to make the album feel like a complete journey rather than a collection of unrelated songs.
The upcoming material also became something of an experiment in letting each member’s personality take the wheel.
Kev approached songs through melody and riffs. Kedwin leaned toward slower tempos, filthy tuning and that unmistakably dirty heaviness. Josh looked at the music from the perspective of the audience asking the important question: Can people actually dance to this? Rather than allowing those differences to pull the band in separate directions, Ocean of Illusions used them as fuel. Their music becomes the intersection of those perspectives.
That collaborative approach wasn’t always easy. The members admitted that sometimes they’re completely aligned emotionally during the writing process, while other times they’re coming from entirely different places. But rather than seeing that as a weakness, they believe it’s one of the reasons their music can move through multiple styles and forms. And that experimentation came with its fair share of doubt. The band described reaching a point where they could hear just how dramatically they had progressed from where they started with “High Tides.” There was anxiety surrounding whether the new material would actually work once everything came together. There was plenty of back-and-forth during the process, but hearing the finished product ultimately changed those doubts into excitement.
The result surprised even them. Then there’s “Doomed,” a song that gave the band an opportunity to step outside their usual visual comfort zone. With drummer Kedwin already creating comedic news-anchor skits, the band decided to expand one of those ideas into a full music video. It was a deliberate departure from their typically dramatic visuals and considering the song deals with corporate greed and its long-term consequences, the absurdity became part of the message.
The video also pokes fun at one of the music industry’s most frustrating clichés: getting paid in “exposure.” It’s a joke that hits particularly close to home for independent musicians, many of whom have heard some variation of that promise far too many times.
And the video is packed with details that reward anyone willing to look closely. That strange robot dance? Keds tribute to a Dave Chappelle skit. The pizza delivery guy? Mario Conte from Enox. That unmistakable pink donut? Straight from Wawa. And, as the band points out, if you’re from New Jersey, you already understand.
Even a geographic clarification made its way into the conversation: their guitarist is from South Korea not North Korea just in case anyone was wondering. Behind the jokes, however, Ocean of Illusions remain serious about pushing themselves musically. Their upcoming release features an especially heavy approach to tuning, with the band utilizing Double Drop D on eight-string guitars and C-sharp on seven-strings, split evenly across the material. And they’re not ruling out anything moving forward.
Clean vocals? Possible. Lower tunings? Absolutely. More riffs? Definitely.
The band’s live experiences have also contributed significantly to their evolution. Technical problems on the road might normally be remembered as nothing more than frustrating obstacles, but Ocean of Illusions managed to turn interface issues into an unexpected bonding experience with touring bands Tarcil and Fathom, building relationships while troubleshooting problems together.
That sense of community seems to run throughout the band’s story.
When asked about standout memories, the answers ranged from playing with In Dying Arms, touring Texas and performing at the New Jersey Devils’ Prudential Center, to sharing stages with The Black Dahlia Murder and The Faceless, traveling across different states, and reconnecting with longtime friends. For a band that has spent more than a decade evolving, those experiences seem just as important as the records themselves.
Now, with “Nexus” and “Doomed” introducing their next chapter, Ocean of Illusions appear less interested in proving what they can do and more interested in discovering what happens when they stop putting limitations on themselves. The upcoming EP isn’t simply another release.
It’s the product of four musicians testing their individual creative identities, throwing those ideas into the same musical blender, and discovering what comes out the other side.
And if their next chapter is anything like the process that created it, listeners should expect heavier tuning, bigger riffs, unexpected experimentation, plenty of personality and absolutely no shortage of chaos. Ocean of Illusions aren’t trying to recreate where they’ve been. They’re figuring out where they can go next.
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