DREAM OCEAN Back with "The Missing Stone"

They called upon their fanbase to help forge their next masterpiece and were met with a wave of support from all over the world: After a highly successful crowdfunding campaign, the Turkish-German symphonic prodigies of DREAM OCEAN are ready to reveal their second full-length album The Missing Stone on September 24. “Composition of the Chaos / pursuing his long lost dreams”, they serenade on their new beautiful video single As I Die, which accompanies the album release. There could hardly be a better description of how this album relates to the band, not least reflected in the inclusion of Daydreamer / Uyan, a reinterpreted version of one of their oldest tracks, in English and the original Turkish. With beautiful harmonies and an ornate orchestral core, DREAM OCEAN convey unbridled emotion, an ability appreciated by fans and colleagues alike. Tommy Johansson of Sweden’s metal superstars Sabaton, who collaborated with them for the cover of The Phantom of the Opera has nothing but praise for DREAM OCEAN’s musical prowess: “I am very happy I got to be part of this cool project. Who knows what happens in the future, if we'll do something more together, who knows. [...] Dream Ocean is a great new symphonic metal band that will reach sky high very very soon, I can promise you that. I mean, just listen to them, they're fucking amazing. I love the band, really.”

Originally hailing from Istanbul and inspired by giants like Nightwish and supported by spearheads like Majestica or Epica, DREAM OCEAN have been working unremittingly for over a decade to hone their natural musical talents and strike that perfect balance between brutal bombastry and the sonic sublimation of intricate emotional dynamics. Frontwoman and conservatory graduate Başak Ylva boasts an extraordinary mezzosoprano, and bass player/orchestrator Sebastian Heuckmann’s command of the strings – be it his own low thumping five or a full orchestra accommodating Frederic Denuelle’s lead guitar – resonates perfectly with her charisma. Heuckmann’s delicate sense of harmony and proportion allows him to stay clear of kitsch at all times and nurtures the metal body of each song – no matter how complex the arrangement.

Başak Ylva’s lyricism takes listeners on a labyrinthine psychological journey exploring the mind of a young woman who is trapped in torturous circumstances inside and out. Her objective, her key to survival, is finding the eponymous missing stone amongst the trials and travails of living in a world that is both mercilessly real and wrathfully mysterious. In ten songs, listeners will find themselves in a dark, glistening hell, catapulted to soaring highs only to be swept away to brooding depths again. 

Complemented by agile metal drums, DREAM OCEAN create breathtaking orchestral soundscapes galvanized by highly technical metal sensibilities and great storytelling on The Missing Stone, their most fleshed-out work yet.