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Pelagial is the sixth studio album by German progressive metal band The Ocean. It is a concept album with the track titles referencing, in descending fashion, the oceanic depth zones. Musically, the concept is explored by sequencing the music such that it is increasingly dark and claustrophobic in emulation of the diminishing light and increasing pressure that comes with oceanic descent. The album was initially conceived as an instrumental release, although vocals were subsequently added; the band has made both versions available.

Pelagial was released in Germany on April 26, 2013, in Europe on April 29, and in North America on April 30. The album entered the German Album Chart at #68 and is the band's first charting album.

The concept of Pelagial is multi-dimensional. The first, most literal, level involves a journey from the surface to the lowest depth zone of the ocean, with the album's movements getting progressively darker and more claustrophobic to mimic the diminishing light and increasing atmospheric pressure. However, at a second, allegorical level, the ocean layers serve as an extended metaphor for a journey into the inner depths of the psyche. Guitarist and songwriter Robin Staps described this aspect of Pelagial as a movement "towards the essence and origins of our desires, wishes, dreams, and all the fucked up attributes inside of our own inner selves that generate and shape them" and said that there are "a lot of Freud-like references" in the lyrics and song titles.

Pelagial was written as a single piece of music in order to fit the concept of a journey through the depth zones of the ocean. However, according to Staps, it was separated into 11 tracks to "make certain sections accessible". The concept was further elaborated musically through the use of samples from old submarine movies, which The Ocean used to imbue the songs with a similar "claustrophobic atmosphere". Staps, referencing the German film Das Boot as exemplary of the genre, said of the old submarine movies:

They all play with the same elements of claustrophobia and there's always the same plot happening, basically the submarine diving a little deeper than they're allowed to, all the creaking and crackling and the water coming in and leaking into the submarine shell. The water bumps and people are sitting there in tension and hoping not to get hit. This kind of atmosphere was something I really wanted to create with this album for the deeper parts of the journey... It was only an obvious step to decide to use those original samples to underline and enhance the atmosphere... There is a lot of bubbling, lots of background underwater sounds that are partially taken from movies and partially from other sources.

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