Dividing the Ocean “DTO” was formed at the beginning of 2020. Dan and Chris (both guitarists) often had the idea of writing their own songs and realized it in the mid of 2019. After a while, the whole project has grown and the big search for new members began. In January 2020 they found Johannes, who helps them out on drums. In May 2020, the second Johannes joined DTO as bassist. Last but not least, DTO finally got their frontman Samuel at the end of September 2020 – check out our interview with him!

Beginnings:

Our guitar players Dan and Chris decided to launch a new band project on New Year’s Eve 2020. The other band members joined primarily via announcements on the internet. On the face of it, we have found the right people with good synergy for the project.

Behind the name:

Memphis May Fire, August Burns Red, Any Given Day, Motionless In White… People who are fancy about this kind of music know it: a metalcore band needs a name with three words, doesn’t it? So, “Dividing The Ocean” was the name to choose. (smiles) Jokes apart, of course, the name has a meaning in greater depth as well. It will become obvious while listening to our debut album.

Inspiration:

I would say, if you step outside the door, you already get plenty of inspiration for more songs and lyrics you could ever write. Furthermore, plainly said, we want to create music that gives you joy and makes fun listening to it. And metalcore breakdowns are always a perfect way to relax. (smiles)

Teamwork:

Everyone has a vital part in songwriting and composing. Due to the current situation, we are working from home on the songs.
The instrumentals are primarily created by our “mastermind” Dan, supported by Chris. Meanwhile, the lyrics are written by the vocalist Samuel. Finally, everyone can adapt the songs to get the creativity and ideas from all band members into the project. All in all, there are a lot of Skype meetings and Dropbox files. Actually, like in most home offices right now. (smiles)

The debut album:

Our debut album “Exitus” will contain 11 songs, and it will be released in 2021. We have put a lot of effort into the songs and recordings to create a high-quality metalcore record. Besides that, we are producing a couple of music videos as well. The video for our title track “Exitus” has already been published on YouTube. Make sure to check it out!

COVID-19:

Well, I think it is a common, serious problem for artists and people making music. Like almost every band out there, we can not rehearse at the time being. That makes it tricky to prepare for concerts or to practice performance on stages. Especially filming our music videos at this time is demanding as well. Anyway, as you can see in our first video for “Exitus”, we have found a quite cool way to deal with that issue. (smiles)

Online concert:

Online concerts are a splendid opportunity to support artists and bands in this challenging time. For our first concert in this constellation, we want to wait until the moment, when live concerts will be possible again. The debut gig with a new group is always a special one for every member, and it should be an evening with friends and fans of the music, having a good evening together.

Fun facts:

We are playing metal. There is no fun at all! (laughs) Joke apart, a funny fact is that our bass guitar player and drummer are both named Johannes. You can not imagine how challenging this fact can sometimes be during rehearsals.

Thank you very much for the interview and the opportunity! We are looking forward to releasing our debut album in 2021, and we hope you will enjoy it!