Oceans Of Slumber – Where Gods Fear to Speak
Season of Mist Records
8,5/10,0
Brief:
More than a decade has passed since the release of Oceans Of Slumber’s Aetherial debut album, and a lot has changed. After recruiting Cammie Gilbert (now Gilbert-Beverly) in 2014, the Houston, Texas crew’s trajectory took a natural, upward tilt, fueled by the hugely positive response received by second album, Winter (2016). Masters of dark-hearted brutality and gritty, melancholic song craft, Oceans Of Slumber transcended the usual genre limitations, favoring a progressive and boundary-less approach. With each successive record, the combination of founder, drummer, pianist and chief songwriter Dobber Beverly’s brooding, dynamic onslaughts with Cammie’s charismatic presence and elegant, sonorous vocals garnered widespread acclaim and an international fan base. Monuments to a restless creative spirit, the band’s third and fourth albums, The Banished Heart (2018) and Oceans Of Slumber (2020) raised the stakes ever higher.
Nobody said it was going to be easy, however. Buoyed by the praise of critics and the love of increasingly rabid admirers, Oceans Of Slumber proved true to their progressive reputation when they released fifth full-length Starlight & Ash in 2022. Although still palpably drawn from the same well of dark and daring influences that had informed previous records, the new songs were pointedly bereft of the crushing metal tropes and elaborate song structures of old. Instead, Oceans Of Slumber stripped things to an ornate and earthy take on gothically-inclined songwriting and melancholy modern prog. Starlight & Ash was praised in metal and prog media, but drew the ire of the band’s big label paymasters, who were rather unimaginatively hoping for more of the same. Reaching an impasse, band and label parted ways, leading to Oceans Of Slumber’s newly-forged relationship with the notoriously open-minded Season of Mist. Now armed with a brand new studio album, Where Gods Fear To Speak, these intuitive radicals have gone where they will be understood.
A colossus in both conception and execution, Where Gods Fear To Speak eschews the usual modern metal sounds in favor of an overwhelming, wall-of-sound production. As songs like the thunderous title track and the grim and sprawling “Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed” cast their meandering, malevolent spells, every instrument leaps out with laser-like clarity, and the vast, emotional heft underpinning Dobber and Cammie’s lyrics is brought rivetingly to the fore. Meanwhile, standout gems like “The Given Dream” and “Poem of Ecstasy” showcase Oceans Of Slumber’s still-evolving core sound, with soaring melodies and jaw-dropping dynamics that casually blur the boundary between the accessible and the avant-garde, while basking in the brooding glow of Cammie’s unique voice. Produced in collaboration with esteemed studio guru Joel Hamilton at Audovision Studios in Bogota, it emerges as a self-evident labor of love for all of those involved.
Wildly evocative and bulging under the weight of its countless razor-sharp melodies, Where Gods Fear To Speak proves that Oceans Of Slumber will not let the occasional setback put them off their creative stride. Both the heaviest and the most sophisticated record they have made yet, it covers all bases to deliver an emotional, life-affirming musical journey like no other. Some people will love it. Others may not. But what is abundantly clear is that Oceans Of Slumber remain a formidable force to be reckoned with, and When Gods Fear To Speak may be their masterpiece.
Tracklist:
- Where Gods Fear to Speak (6:25)
- Run From the Light (5:15)
- Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed (8:28)
- Wish (3:53)
- Poem of Ecstasy (6:33)
- The Given Dream (3:36)
- I Will Break the Pride of Your Will (5:27)
- Prayer (5:03)
- The Impermanence of Fate (6:20)
- Wicked Game (5:26)
Main Focus Tracks:
- Where Gods Fear to Speak (6:25)
- Wish (3:53)
- Prayer (5:03)
Other Recommended Tracks:
- Run From the Light (5:15)
- Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed (8:28)
- Poem of Ecstasy (6:33)
- The Impermanence of Fate (6:20)
Line-Up:
Cammie Beverly – Singer
Dobber Beverly – Drums, Piano
Semir Ozerkan – Bass
Alex Davis – Guitar
Chris Kritikos – Guitar, Synth
Comments:
Where Gods Fear to Speak, a bold album that celebrates its newfound unity and ability to reinvent itself, offering an eclectic mix of styles and renewed energy, making this new Oceans Of Slumber album a masterpiece.
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Selected Discography:
Aetherial – 2013
Winter – 2016
The Banished Heart – 2018
Oceans of Slumber – 2020
Starlight and Ash – 2022
Where Gods Fear to Speak – 2024
Photo Credit: Zach Johnson