Oceans of slumber, Oceans of slumber

It’s been a long time since my last post, even longer than usual. But Oceans of slumber’s latest release really did a number on me. I listened to it over and over again, trying to properly get it, thinking there’s something I missed. It took some time for me to finally be able to accept that I just don’t like this particular piece of art and that is absolutely ok.

As the opening piece, The soundtrack to my last day is a great representative of the dual nature of this album, as Oceans of Slumber’s self titled record switches from delicate to heavy, light to dark and soft to intense in the blink of an eye. The first half is soulful, melodic, filled with sorrow and gentleness, and then it abruptly goes into the heavier grunt-filled side, which is pretty much how most of the songs go.

The problem is that I don’t really click with either side of it. I absolutely adore Cammie, but I’m really not a fan of that style of singing with a lot of slides and flowers, and unfortunately she applies it quite often on Oceans of Slumber and, worst of all, she’s delivering some rather insipid tunes. The heavier side is… blunt. I suppose it’s good if you look at it objectively, but I can’t really comment, nor appreciate, as it’s really not my cup of tea. I don’t feel like there are many instances where these two parts truly meet, sometimes they just jump from one to the other and there’s very little in between. And what makes it worse is that the “in between” is what I actually like the most in this release. Cammie, for example, is excellent when she’s more aggressive, as well as in her softer moments, but there are not enough of those. The ominous middle of The Adorned Fathomless Creation or the eerie atmospheric instrumental of Imperfect divinity and yes, the heart wrenching outpour of angst and determination near the end of A return to the earth below are the bits I long for. A special nod to Mick Moss from Antimatter who elevates The colors of grace with his husky vocals. Speaking of The colors of grace, that’s a highly most frustrating track, as the verses’ minor regretful tonalities give way to such a corny chorus that completely ruins the mood previously set up.

Especially compared to the previous records, which are very fresh and creative, Oceans of slumber seems lifeless and, quite frankly, dull. It’s filled with whiny tunes and harsh death metal and not much of anything else. Again, maybe I’ve gone grumpy. None of my latest reviews have been exactly filled with praise, even though they referred to bands I truly love. On the other hand, there’s plenty of music I enjoy, so I really think it’s simply not the kind of release I was looking for.

I generally love contrast and one of the reasons I appreciate Oceans of slumber is the way they mix different genres and moods on the course of one song. But this particular combination doesn’t work for me. I also think Cammie is severely underused, mostly employing the same type of singing and offering little variation both in terms of vocals and the emotions delivered by them. There is not a lot of progression within a track either, just many back and forths between that gliding style of singing that I mentioned earlier and death metal. Most of the nuances that Oceans of slumber have shown in the past are now missing. I suppose “monotonous” is the proper word for it, which is kind of ironic considering the intense use of extremes.

The conclusion would be that despite the glowing reviews that I read, the new Oceans of slumber feels like a huge step down from The Banished Heart. I don’t think it’s a record I’ll be listening to anytime soon, and to tell you the truth I’m not sure I’ll be listening to random tracks either, as there’s nothing that truly caught my interest.