Photo by Wesley Robin
New Jersey death metal architects OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS will unleash their new EP, Nexus, on October 30th via Bleeding Art Collective.
OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS has been pushing the boundaries of the extreme music genre since their inception, as captured on their debut album Unrecognizable (2022) and single release “Helminth.” Layered dynamics, pit inducing hooks, and crushing breakdowns all find a place in the band’s repertoire. Traversing influences that range from European melodic death metal, through to djentcore and New York death metal, OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS can pull together these broad influences to create a sound that stands apart.
With the release of the new singles “Nexus” and “Doomed” in 2025, and the video for “Doomed” reaching 129K views on Slam Worldwide, the band has further expanded and refined their sound, where moments of introspection, weight and massive groove all combine to deliver the bands best work to date.
Having shared the stage with titans such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Ingested, The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, Bodysnatcher and others, OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS have now partnered with Bleeding Art Collective for the release of Nexus, just in time for Halloween.
The band comments, “‘Nexus’ is defined as a connection or series of connections linking two or more things or a central focal point. The definition resonated with us and what we’re trying to accomplish. This EP is a good representation of each band member’s style artistically, testing the waters to see what we’re capable of. The plan was to have every member write a song in their style and we mesh it into what we already had going. When we could see the difference from where we started with high tides to what we’re doing now, we knew we had something special. We were anxious and had doubts but once the finished product came out, we were surprised with the outcome.
“There was a lot of back and forth but it was worth it in the end for what we were able to create. Sometimes we are aligned with our emotions and other times we are not. I think that’s why our music takes on a couple styles and forms. We all come with different perspectives of heavy music so it makes it a bit interesting. While some of the tracks may be callbacks to Unrecognizable thematically, instrumentally we experimented with different styles for this EP.”
In advance of the EP’s release, today the band drops a video for “Ash Hoarder,” noting “This song explores the duality of fire – to bring warmth or cause irreparable damage. This song highlighted Josh’s style of playing, he focused on the riffs, and if the crowd could dance to it . This song is on brand for signature style.”
Watch OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS’ “Ash Hoarder” lyric video HERE.
Watch the band’s previously released video for “Doomed” HERE.
OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS’ Nexus was mixed and mastered by Dave Ricco of Face Yourself and will be released digitally with presaves available in the coming weeks.
Nexus EP Track Listing:
- Nexus
- Doomed
- Imminent Incursion
- Ash Hoarder
- A Breath To Conquer The World
- Illuminating In Pain
OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS:
Zachary Howard – vocals
Kedwin Ramirez – drums
Kevin Kim – guitar
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The post OCEAN OF ILLUSIONS: New Jersey Death Metal Architects To Unleash Nexus EP October 30th Via Bleeding Art Collective; New Video/Single Now Playing first appeared on Earsplit Compound.