Being As An Ocean

Being as an Ocean
Being as an Ocean live in Hong Kong in 2015
Background information
Origin	Alpine, California, U.S.
Genres	Post-hardcore melodic hardcore post-rock spoken word
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Equal Vision, InVogue
Associated acts	Vanguard
Website	facebook.com
Members	Joel Quartuccio Tyler Ross Ralph Sica Michael McGough Jesse Shelley
Past members	Shad Hamawe Jacob Prest Connor Denis

Being as an Ocean is an American melodic hardcore band from Alpine, California, formed in 2011 and currently signed to Equal Vision Records. They have released three studio albums: Dear G-d..., How We Both Wondrously Perish and a self-titled album released on June 29, 2015. How We Both Wondrously Perish was released in May 2014 and charted at number 57 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.

Being as an Ocean was originally named Vanguard, where they played extreme metal with a Christian message, however, as their sound was experimented with more, they began to lose interest in playing metal and instead pursued a more post-hardcore sound. Demo versions of the songs "The Hardest Part Is Forgetting Those You Swore You Would Never Forget" and "Humble Servant, Am I" were streamed on Vanguard's MySpace page on January 4, 2011. The band thereafter changed their name to Being as an Ocean.

The band initially had guitarist Tyler Ross write the whole first album right after its formation. Dear G-d... was tracked in an old hotel called The Palms and was sent to Brian Hood to be mixed and mastered. The first single from the album was its title track, which was released on January 3, 2012, and was met with positive acclaim. Shortly after, Jacob Prest joined the band as rhythm guitarist. Being as an Ocean toured over twenty countries including Canada, Germany, Georgia, Austria, the United Kingdom and Australia with bands such as Counterparts, Hundredth, Sierra, Liferuiner, Napoleon, and The Elijah. They released a b-side from Dear G-d... titled "The People Who Share My Name" on August 5, 2013.

In 2013, Shad Hamawe and Jacob Prest left the band to pursue lives outside of the band due to the intense touring schedule. The remaining members started recording as well as auditioning for new members. Connor Denis, of the hardcore punk band Sleep Patterns, joined the band as their new drummer. With this new line-up, they began writing and recording for their new album that would be released sometime in 2014. Michael McGough, of the post-hardcore band The Elijah, was also announced as the new guitarist for the band. On February 25, they revealed the album art of their sophomore album, How We Both Wondrously Perish and announced its release date. A single from the album, "Death's Great Black Wing Scrapes the Air", was released on iTunes. The band recorded the album in Atlanta, Georgia at Glow in the Dark Studios and released it on May 6, 2014.