Ocean Hills – ‘Death Or Liberty’ 

Zoli Téglás, the longest-serving lead vocalist for Orange County band political activist hardcore group Ignite, frontman for Misfits, and Pennywise, as well as actor, featuring in majors such as ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’, and ‘The Alienist’, has another string to his already considerably well-strung bow, that of a tireless champion of animal rights and environmental protection. With his new five-piece band, Ocean Hills, he has released the alt/hard rock track, ‘Death Or Liberty’, which absolutely oozes sonic rebellion, and defiance.

‘Death Or Liberty’, according to Zoli, is “about never giving up, and to just keep going, no matter the obstacles”, which should give you some idea of what to expect from the song. Ocean Hills’ sound has been compared to the likes of Shinedown, Nickelback, Stone Sour, and Alter Bridge, and with the combination of fist-pumping melodies with absolutely pinpoint perfect songwriting, provide their fans with a dynamic treasure. With songwriting duties shared between dual guitarists Peter Lukacs and Reinder Oldenberger, and bass/keyboard player Daniel Szebenyi, the songs convey a shared angst and an “us against the world” feel, matched by huge choruses and slickly emotive verses.

The video for ‘Death Or Liberty’, directed by Viktor Nagy and Peter Lerch of Mihaszna Films, is set in the desert, around Salton City, giving it the look of what the world could look like in the not too distant future if we don’t start taking more strict measures with protecting the environment. The band plays while meteors crash into the earth, sheering through huge wind turbines in their wake. Rusted out cars are sinking into the sand at a drive-in theatre, as the band walks through the desert, Peter Lukacs both up on screen and in real life shredding licks in silhouette against a dust storm at sunset. It should come as no surprise that Nagy and Lerch have made a name for themselves making videos for heavy metal icons such as W.A.S.P., and heroes of the underground, like Darkest Hour.

It’s impossible to watch the video for ‘Death Or Liberty’ without becoming more aware of what we’re doing to the earth. Let’s get pro-active and do something about it! Watch the clip below. You can find Ocean Hills online on Twitter.

OCEAN HILLS - Death Or Liberty (2020) // Official Music Video // AFM Records

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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