The Precambrian or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pЄ, is the largest span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale. It spans from the formation of Earth about 4.6 billion years ago (Ga) to the beginning of the Cambrian Period, about 541 million years ago (Ma), when hard-shelled creatures first appeared in abundance. The Precambrian is so named because it precedes the Cambrian, the first period of the Phanerozoic Eon, which is named after Cambria, the classical name for Wales, where rocks from this age were first studied. The Precambrian accounts for 88% of geologic time.
Relatively little is known about the Precambrian, despite it making up roughly seven-eighths of the Earth's history, and what is known has largely been discovered from the 1960s onwards. The Precambrian fossil record is poorer than that of the succeeding Phanerozoic, and those fossils present (e.g. stromatolites) are of limited biostratigraphic use. This is because many Precambrian rocks have been heavily metamorphosed, obscuring their origins, while others have been destroyed by erosion, or remain deeply buried beneath Phanerozoic strata.
Precambrian is the third studio album by the German metal band The Ocean, released on November 5, 2007 through Metal Blade Records. It features several guest musicians, including Caleb Scofield (Cave In, Zozobra, Old Man Gloom), Nate Newton (Converge, Doomriders), Dwid Hellion (Integrity), Tomas Hallbom (Breach), Erik Kalsbeek (Textures) and musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
The main concept of the album is based around the Precambrian, an early period in the formation of Earth. Hadean/Archaean (disc one) is heavy and raw just like their previous album Aeolian while Proterozoic (disc two) is more post-metal-influenced with the inclusion of symphonic and electronic elements like their first album Fluxion.
The production of the album lasted more than six months after their tour in Europe in late 2006. All the drum tracks done by Torge Liessmann and most of the guitar tracks were recorded at Studio57, near Kokkola, Finland, where producer Jonas Olsson had also recorded and produced Callisto´s album Noir. Some of the guitar tracks and all of the vocals, bass guitar, percussion, samples, and various instruments played by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra were recorded in The Ocean's own Oceanland Studio in Berlin, Germany. Additional vocals were recorded in Sweden, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Los Angeles, California and Seattle, Washington in the United States. It was mixed by Andrew Schneider in New York City. The album's mastering was originally done by Nick Zampiello, but dissatisfied Robin Staps, and it was therefore remastered in Finland. The artwork was done by Martin Kvamme, who has done artwork for various Mike Patton projects like Fantômas and Tomahawk. The release in the United States and Europe differed; the U.S. version is in a two-disc crystal case while the European version is in a complex digipak case with additional artwork.
[Instrumental with a quote from the movie:"The Life of David Gale"]
"What it means to be fully human is to strive to live by ideas and ideals
And not to measure your life by what you've attained in terms of your desires but
Those small moments of integrity, compassion, rationality...
Because in the end, the only way that we can measure the significance of our own lives
Is by valuing the lives of others"
"Fantasies have to be unrealistic
Because the moment - the second - that you get what you seek, you don't - you can't - want it anymore.
In order to exist, desire must have its objects perpetually absent...
It's not the 'it' that you want, its the fantasy of 'it'.
We are only truly happy when daydreaming about future happiness...
This is why we say: "the hunt is sweeter than the kill", or: "be careful what you wish for" - not because you'll get it: because you're doomed not to want it once you do.
Living by your "wants" will never make you happy."