Heliocentric is the fourth studio album by the German metal band The Ocean, released on April 9, 2010, and marks the recording debut of vocalist Loïc Rossetti. It is the first part of a double album about the critique of Christianity from different philosophical and personal angles, with its companion album, "Anthropocentric" which was released on November 9, 2010 in North America.
Theme
The songs, art and lyrics of this album tell the story of the rise of the heliocentric world view - the idea that the earth revolves around the sun, and that the sun is stationary and at the center of the solar system. Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei were the first popular ambassadors of this idea, although ancient Greek astronomers like Aristarchus had already posited this theory centuries before. The journey starts with the creation of the firmament in Genesis 1:6-20 and ancient explanations of the movement of celestial bodies in 1 Enoch 72:2-5. It continues with Copernicus and Galileo, the first propagators of heliocentrism who were not yet in conflict with the Church and Giordano Bruno, who was burnt at the stake of the Roman Inquisition for being a heretic. Arthur Rimbaud's's criticism of moral law in his essay Reasons Not to Believe in God and Nietzsche's rejection of fundamental Christian values has inspired the lyrics to Metaphysics of the Hangman. The album concludes with the greatest achievement in the history of modern science, Darwin's theory of evolution and ideas inspired by evolution biologist and passionate atheist Richard Dawkins. Its companion album, Anthropocentric, challenges the views of creationists and other modern fundamentalists who believe that the earth is at the center of the universe.
Music
Musically, 'Heliocentric' covers the largest range of dynamics and styles to date: "There are a few really calm songs with mainly piano and vocals, as well as some crushing heavy tunes. There is a very special atmosphere to it that pervades the album", comments guitarist Jonathan Nido.
"Heliocentric" continues where the "Proterozoic" half of Precambrian left off, with dense, epic songs and big orchestrations. The vocals are the biggest departure from previous albums; they are mostly "clean," and more soulful.
Recording
The albums were mainly recorded in the mountainous isolation of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The band decided to record and mix the album with the band's house sound engineer Julien Fehlmann: "We wanted to be in control of every single detail, and we have an amazing studio at hand here. Soundwise this is by far the best-sounding album we have done to date". Samples of the tracks were released on the band's website in February 2010.
