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OCEANS OF SLUMBER “Where Gods Fear To Speak”
OCEANS OF SLUMBER “Where Gods Fear To Speak”
By Dr. Abner Mality
If heavy metal is to have a real future, women have to be a part of it. There are very encouraging signs that the fair sex is reaching its rightful potential in metal. Texas band OCEANS OF SLUMBER occupies a very special place in this revolution. It’s not only due to the extraordinary talent of lead singer Cammie Gilbert-Beverley, but also the fact that she is a woman of color. Women in metal aren’t rare, but black women certainly are. Cammie is an absolute trailblazer on that path.
“When Gods Fear To Speak” sees OCEANS OF SLUMBER returning to a much heavier sound after their last album “Starlight and Ash” saw them going on a controversial tangent into softer realms. It’s a welcome development, but the band is still making use of cinematic melodies. “Where Gods Fear To Speak” sounds bigger and richer and more than ever like the soundtrack to an epic movie. Hovering above all are the soulful vocals of Cammie, which make OOS unique to any other band. I can’t even really begin to delve into how powerfully melodic the vocals are here, reaching almost operatic heights at times. If I had to pick one song to sum up the power of both band and vocalist, it would be the climactic “Impermanence of Fate”. This track is just an amazing tour de force and one of the greatest combinations of cinematic and metal music ever done.
Although Cammie sticks to her awesome clean vocals for the most part, there are some diversions into grinding death growls, which can be heard on the excellent title track. She also gets some help from DARK TRANQUILITY’s Mikael Stanne on “Run From The Light” (the fastest, most propulsive track) and MOONSPELL’s Fernando Ribeiro on “Prayer”. But the show undoubtedly belongs to Cammie throughout the length of the album.
I don’t think it would be correct to refer to OCEANS OF SLUMBER as a doom metal band, but they do excel at slower, more ponderous tempos. They are also great with adding keyboard textures, especially piano, to songs. There are a number of mellow touches throughout, but these are performed with intensity, as on the epic “Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed” and “I Will Break the Pride of Your Will”. The keys have more emotional depth than most evening gown metal like NIGHTWISH. Only on the cover of CHRIS ISAAK’s “Wicked Game” does it really descend into overdone mawkishness. So yes, there are mellow moments here, but the metal is back with a vengeance and it has real bite when it appears.
This is a different level for heavy metal and a pioneering piece of work. Do not get left behind on this one!
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