OCEANS OF SLUMBER
“THE BANISHED HEART”
Album Review by Dark Juan

10/10

Oceans Of Slumber are:

Cammie Gilbert – vocals
Dobber Beverly – drums and piano
Sean Gary – guitars and vocals
Anthony Contreras – guitars and vocals
Keegan Kelly – bass and vocals

I’ve tried writing this review five times. It appears that a combination of 3am starts at work (3am? The only other time I have seen 3am is when hopelessly drunk, or when being smacked in the face by a gentleman having a psychotic break using a model of the USS Voyager) and Igor the Evil One trampling my keyboard every time I sit down to write have conspired against me… But the little bastard is asleep now and I’m not yet sleepy and there doesn’t appear to be any models of the ships of Star Trek approaching my face, so let’s crack on swiftly. Oceans Of Slumber then… are they worth a punt or are they a dead horse not worth flogging?

The record starts with a mournful piano tune. So far, so derivative. I’ll be honest, when vocalist Cammie first starts to sing over a riff that is instantly recognisable to any fan of Century Media bands, I was prepared to write the band off as a second rate bunch of Lacuna Coil copyists. However, and this may come as a massive shock, but Dark Juan was WRONG! WRONG WRONG WRONG! In fact I think Cammie should come and punish me….. Ah, did I say that out loud? Forget you ever saw it, you heathens. Cammie’s voice does remind me a bit of Cristina Scabbia’s, only in places, but that is where all similarity with Lacuna Coil ends. Oceans Of Slumber are a bloody good band. They are excellent musicians, one and all, and there’s that many key and tempo changes in the songs that even the most ardent prog widdler or djent gent will enjoy this album. The second song (Fleeting Vigilance) on the record is an absolute stonker, with Cammie’s mournful wail soaring magnificently above fantastically fast blastbeats and chunky djent riffs. Superb. There are other things to enjoy too. I don’t know which one of the chaps in the band has the death metal grunt, but by Jiminy I like it. Providing a very solid metal base for the stylings of the female vocal line, I love the light and shade of the contrasting styles. In fact, the more I listen to this record I keep coming up with more and more comparisons, all of which are interesting. I keep thinking of Opeth fronted by Anneke Van Giersbergen of The Gathering playing black metal infused djent, or The Gathering’s heavier moments (think around Nighttime Birds era) mixed with piano, attitude and acid hate. There’s a hunger to this record, even though it is by no means the hardest, fastest or most violent record you’ll hear. It wants to tear out your throat, but do it with style and grace. What it is, and this is a major consideration for the Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System, is original and interesting. I love discovering new stuff that holds my interest and takes metal to new places. There’s even a quasi-ballad called The Banished Heart, being the title track of the record that I like a lot. My views on ballads are well known and many a band has had marks taken away because I fucking hate ballads normally. Mainly because they fail the 18 And Life test. Any ballad worth its salt has to be as good as the Skid Row classic. However, the quality of the song stands up from its many moods and especially Cammie singing the lines, “I hold you and I need you, I said forever, I mean forever…” in such an intimate way. It’s visceral and raw in its emotion and it made my twisted black heart miss a beat, such beauty contained within violence and savagery on other parts of the record. The Banished Heart (the song) is special in many ways, with lilting synth based passages as well as crushing metal and piano based emotion. Utterly magnificent. I’m blown away by the quality of songwriting and the band’s many talents, blending such disparate sounds into a hugely satisfying gothic whole. And bear in mind I’m a sad old Goth and it passes the Makes Me Want To Put On My Plasma Ball and Listen To It In The Dark Whilst Doing The Strange Gothy Wave Your Hands Dance That Only Goths Do Test so it must be good. Very good indeed. Howl Of The Rugarou is another stand out, with Cammie channelling her best Beth Gibbons-esque (Portishead) soulful croon.

SKUNK ANANSIE! Skin! That’s who Cammie’s voice reminds me of. I’ve been racking my brains for the whole review trying to think of her. Good, at least I might sleep tonight now. Anyway, let’s summarise for the people who don’t read my bollocks and just want to know if it is worth expending coinage on.

Oceans Of Slumber are a tremendous band. I love this record. I love the light and shade of it, and the beauty, violence and technical proficiency of the music. I love the combination of Grunty Man and Cammie’s alto.  This band strips you of your skin with flensing knives while reading you poetry, beautifully. Buy their record, for I am going to do the unthinkable for the second time this year and award 10/10. Jesus Christ.

The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System really is appalled at how much of a big softy it has become and will make damned sure it’s unkind to someone soon and awards Oceans of Slumber 10/10. That’s the blood splat equivalent of a planet being destroyed by intergalactic Nazis in the SS Deathstar Gotterdammerung. And the subsequent tactical nuclear Allied response. The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System is going for a lie down now. I’m supposed to be a critic. Not an advocate. Bloody hell.

TRACKLIST

The Decay Of Disregard
Fleeting Vigilance
At Dawn
The Banished Heart
The Watcher
Etiolation
A Path To Broken Stars
Howl Of The Rugarou
Her In The Distance
No Colour (I refuse to spell it the American way!), No Light
Wayfaring Stranger

www.oceansofslumber.com
www.facebook.com/oceansofslumber

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