Oceans of Slumber Archives - NO CLEAN SINGING

OCEANS OF SLUMBER – WHERE GODS FEAR TO SPEAK

Sep 032024

(Andy Synn dives deep into the new Oceans of Slumber album, out next week)

It is, quite frankly, borderline criminal that we haven’t all helped make Oceans of Slumber a bigger commercial and critical success.

Sure, the group has had issues with maintaining a consistent line-up, and they’ve yet to create an absolute classic that’s consistently awesome all the way through, but the highlights of their back-catalogue – combining the always stunning vocals of Cammie Beverly and the punishing percussive power of her husband Dobber with a visceral and vibrant variety of progressive riffs, cinematic synths, and lithe, limber bass-lines – have always, in my opinion at least, outnumbered their occasional musical missteps.

Hell, the gloomy Southern Gothic glamour of 2022’s Starlight & Ash could – and should – have led to some serious mainstream crossover success… but somehow the band still didn’t get their due.

Well, it now looks like all that rejection (ok, it’s not like the group are total unknowns by any means, they just have yet to receive the push they properly deserve) has come home to roost as, for better or worse (but mostly for better), it’s clear that Where Gods Fear to Speak is the sort of album that was written solely for the band’s own enjoyment and artistic fulfilment.

AN NCS INTERVIEW: OCEANS OF SLUMBER

Interviews No Responses »

Jul 052024

photo by Zach Johnson

(We present Ben Manzella‘s interview of Cammie and Dobber Beverly from the Houston-based band Oceans of Slumber, whose new album will be released in September by Season of Mist.)

In a time when complexity seems to be despised, I am thrilled by the upcoming LP from Oceans of Slumber. With nine new songs and an intriguing interpretation of “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak to end the record, Oceans of Slumber start their time on Season of Mist by releasing a record that feels like an epic novel or adventure film perfectly fit for the overall uncertainty in life.

This isn’t grandiose music that plays to escapist tendencies. For me, as I’ve spent the last few weeks with these songs, this has become the soundtrack of a personal transition that I’m not ready to confront but feel somewhat forced to handle. Tomorrow is never a guarantee, and I welcome songs that match the daunting scale of my mental health as well as my physical limitations due to recent health challenges.

Without turning this into a journal entry, I’d rather share my conversation with Cammie and Dobber Beverly from Oceans of Slumber. I likely could’ve chatted with them longer, but my internet isn’t the most reliable and I wanted to keep things reasonable. Thanks, again, to Dobber and Cammie for their time, as well as to Will at Season of Mist for helping me arrange this conversation. Continue reading »

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY: TOMBS, OCEANS OF SLUMBER, ZEAL & ARDOR, FORETOKEN

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC No Responses »

Sep 072020

TOMBS (photo by Dan Higgins)

EDITOR’S CONFESSION: Is it possible? Could I have actually failed to post the second installment of this series by our contributor Gonzo on Friday, just like I was late in posting the first one? Even though it’s called NEW MUSIC FRIDAY? Hell yes! It’s true! I fucked up two weeks in a row! But I’m risking covid to visit a tattoo parlor today to have NEW MUSIC FRIDAY tattooed on my forehead so I’ll never forget again. Of course, when looking in the mirror it will read YADIRF CISUM WEN.

The show must go on.

Given the quality output so far in a year otherwise mired with seemingly every kind of imaginable strife dominating the headlines, you’d think those words were the mantra of every working band out there.

Some of those themes of the year, as it turns out, make for excellent and timely material to write songs out of. I have no doubt that we’ll start seeing more and more of it start to emerge as we trudge on through this supremely uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing timeline we’re living through. This week [Editor’s Correction: last week!] has dropped a few hints of what’s to come, with spectacular results. Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS (PART 2): OCEANS OF SLUMBER, ABYSMAL DAWN, DAWN OF SOLACE, EXECUTIONER’S MASK, KAIRON; IRSE!, WARDRUNA

Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 1 Response »

Jun 072020

I’m not as prone as some writers around here to make exceptions to our rule about singing (I’m looking at you Mr. Synn), but I fell prone before all the singing voices in this selection of songs, and the music that accompanies them. But don’t worry… in the next installment of this post I’m sure I’ll revert to the usual nastiness.

OCEANS OF SLUMBER (U.S.)

I guess most people know by now that Cammie Gilbert has a stunning voice. If you don’t know, you’ll find out through this first song and video. You’ll also find out she has some very talented people behind her, including drummer Dobber Beverly, who plays in a lot more extreme bands than this one and delivers a beautifully nuanced performance. Continue reading »

OCEANS OF SLUMBER: “THE BANISHED HEART”

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Mar 052018

(Here’s Andy Synn’s review of the new album by Houston-based Oceans of Slumber, which has just been released by Century Media Records.)

If there’s one thing that’s immediately obvious about Oceans of Slumber, it’s that they’re an easy band to love.

The band’s intricate but engrossing song-writing style, topped off with the truly awe-inspiring vocals of Cammie Gilbert, and fuelled by the prodigious drumming talents of Dobber Beverley, makes for a formidable formula for success, and the general response to both their previous album, Winter, and their newest release, has been one of almost unmitigated praise.

But while the band’s potent blend of ability, ambition, and peerless passion, certainly makes it difficult to criticise them… it doesn’t make it impossible.

Because, as great as it is, The Banished Heart isn’t flawless. Continue reading »

DAMNATION FESTIVAL 2016

Concert Reviews 4 Responses »

Nov 082016

(Our man in the UK, Andy Synn, attended Damnation Festival 2016 in Leeds on November 5, and provides this report along with videos he made.)

Oh Damnation Festival how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

Whereas too many other events seem content to book the same big-name crowd-pleasers, year in and year out, buttressed by an interchangeable selection of generic sound-alikes and contrived gimmicks – all carefully selected purely for their mundane mass-appeal – the Damnation team seem to operate on an unwavering ethos of only booking the bands they truly like, bands (big and small) that they truly believe in, who have something unique or special to offer.

This is how every edition of the festival features an array of bands from multiple different styles, from Death to Prog to Doom to Hardcore to Sludge (and beyond), from across the length and breadth of the underground Metal scene coexisting under one roof and why, over the years, Damnation has seen everyone from Ahab to Asphyx, Carcass to Katatonia, Mono to My Dying Bride, playing to the sort of packed crowds that are a regular occurrence in Europe, but which only rarely seem to be achievable here in the UK.

This helps make Damnation Festival’s line-up a much more interesting affair than many of their peers, as the organisers seem to operate on the principal of “if you build it, they will come”, putting their faith in the belief that the UK scene doesn’t just want to be fed the same old bands and the same old performances, time and time again. And this year was no different, with a wide variety of different acts, of different styles, on display, coupled with a bunch of exclusive performances which practically justified the ticket price on their own! Continue reading »

OCEANS OF SLUMBER: “WINTER”

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule 4 Responses »

Feb 152016

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Houston’s Oceans of Slumber.)

WARNING – EXTREME AMOUNTS OF CLEAN SINGING AHEAD

Ahem, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me just say that I’ve honestly fallen in love with this album after being introduced to it by the Angry Metal Guy himself a few weeks back. And whilst it’s not 100% perfect, there’s definitely something special, and truly unique, about Winter.

Rather than racing out of the gate and grabbing you by the throat, the album opts instead for a sublime slow-burn, beginning with the sombre, slowly unfurling strains of its title-track whose gleaming fretwork and subtle, progressive drumming provide a languid canvas upon which the utterly astounding and captivating vocals of Cammie Gilbert take centre stage.

It’s several minutes before the band unveil their heavier side, dropping into a sonorous, distortion-soaked groove, layered with scintillating, shamelessly progressive lead guitar work and gorgeous atmospheric touches and interspersed with some impressively gruff, pseudo-melodic vocals and rough-hewn growls, which play off against Gilbert’s silken tones perfectly, as the song builds to a stunningly powerful, Prog-Death denouement.

It’s quite unlike anything else I’ve heard in some time, and provides a perfect example of the album’s distinctive blend of proggy intricacy and metallic intensity. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: REBEL WIZARD, SHRAPNEL STORM, THE BODY, OCEANS OF SLUMBER

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET 13 Responses »

Dec 122015

That post title is a little misleading. I’m writing this (somewhat hurriedly) on a Friday afternoon, because the place of employment for my fucking day job is having its annual holiday party tonight, and the odds are I will get fucked up and be in a world of hurt on Saturday morning — because (obviously) I have all the self-control of a three-year-old.

So, this is a selection of new music that I heard and liked on a Friday, presented for your eyes and ears on a Saturday. As you will no doubt expect by now, no two songs sound remotely alike.

REBEL WIZARD

“Rebel Wizard” is the name of a solo project by the Australian musician Nekrasov, whose work under that name is probably better known in certain circles than Rebel Wizard (and whose most recent release I reviewed here last month). The first Rebel Wizard recording that I heard (and reviewed here) was an EP released in July named Negative Wizard Metal. Just yesterday another EP was released on Bandcamp, this one entitled Invocation of the Miserable Ones. It has many of the attributes that made me like the last EP so much. For example: Continue reading »