HEAVY/OCEAN mark 5 years of “H/O” with limited vinyl edition

Five years after the original release of H/O, Portuguese post-metal and post-rock band HEAVY/OCEAN are revisiting the album with a special vinyl edition, marking the anniversary of a record that represents an important stage in the band’s development.

Originally released on 20 August 2021, H/O documented the progression of HEAVY/OCEAN from their early beginnings as a garage project towards a more defined and mature musical identity. The album brought together the heavier elements of post-metal with the atmospheric qualities of post-rock, while incorporating influences from alternative rock and shoegaze.

The anniversary edition will be released on 20 August 2026, exactly five years after the album’s original release. Pressed on 12-inch, 140-gram vinyl, the new edition will be available in two variants: crystal and splatter. Both versions are strictly limited to 50 copies, making the release particularly relevant to collectors and listeners who want a physical edition of an album that was originally released during the pandemic through digital platforms and CD.

The vinyl edition also fulfils a long-standing ambition for the band. From the beginning, releasing H/O on vinyl had been part of the group’s plans, but the circumstances surrounding the original release made that possibility difficult to realise. The five-year anniversary provided an opportunity to revisit the album and complete that part of its history while preparing for a new stage in HEAVY/OCEAN’s development.

For this edition, H/O has received a new mastering specifically for vinyl, with the record pressed by Audiowax. The original album was recorded and mixed by André Matos at Raising Legends Studios between 2019 and 2020, with production shared by HEAVY/OCEAN and Matos. The original digital mastering was handled by Dominik Pumpa at DPK Studios, while the new vinyl mastering was completed by Carlos Nascimento.

The visual identity of the release has also been revisited. The original artwork and design were created by Ricardo Vasconcelos, with additional design by Nuno Queirós, maintaining the visual component that accompanied the album while adapting it for the new physical format.

Musically, H/O reflects a period in which HEAVY/OCEAN were consolidating the elements that would become central to their sound. The band’s approach combines the weight and dynamics of post-metal with the more expansive and atmospheric characteristics of post-rock, while drawing from alternative rock and shoegaze. The resulting compositions move between quieter passages and heavier sections, creating a contrast that remains central to the band’s musical identity.

The album includes “Numb”, for which the band produced a music video, and “Ten Ton Heart”, accompanied by a visualizer. Rather than prescribing a specific interpretation of the record, HEAVY/OCEAN have consistently chosen to leave its meaning open to the listener. The songs draw from experiences and situations encountered throughout the band’s journey, but the relationship between the music and the listener remains deliberately personal.

The limited vinyl edition will initially be available directly from HEAVY/OCEAN from 20 August 2026, with copies subsequently expected to reach selected record stores. With only 50 copies of each variant being pressed, the release will remain a limited document of the album’s five-year history.

For HEAVY/OCEAN, however, the anniversary represents more than a return to a previous release. H/O remains part of the band’s identity and documents a particular moment in their evolution, while the new vinyl edition provides an opportunity to close that chapter in a physical format that had been part of the band’s original ambitions.

The group are already working on what comes next. HEAVY/OCEAN are currently recording the follow-up to H/O, suggesting that the anniversary edition arrives at a point of transition between the band’s past work and their next creative chapter.

Five years after its original release, H/O therefore returns in a format that had been envisioned from the beginning. Limited, newly mastered and available in two collector-oriented variants, the vinyl edition provides a physical continuation of an album that helped define HEAVY/OCEAN’s musical identity while opening the way for what follows.