American Progressive Metal act OCEANS OF SLUMBER, have released new single, “The Given Dream”, taken from its forthcoming album, “Where Gods Fear To Speak”, out on September 13th through Season Of Mist.
Vocalist Cammie Beverly commented:
“This is one of the most tiring songs to sing on the album. I’m belting from the beginning. Going from a belt to soprano back to a belt is not a break. Singing soprano takes more breath than singing mid-range or alto. You have to hold your vocal cords tight.”
Recorded in Bogota, Colombia, in 2023, “Where Gods Fear To Speak” is a multi-faceted entry into OCEANS OF SLUMBER’s burgeoning legacy. Many of the melodic and textural elements that made “Starlight And Ash” such a revelation are still present, but scabrous brutality and complex, cultured arrangements are back with a vengeance. With Cammie’s astonishing vocal blend of vulnerability and abominable power, these songs are the best possible showcase for a band on an unerring mission to win the world over.
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.
From the doom-laden opening chords of “Where Gods Fear To Speak” – released as the album’s first preview single, and revealing Cammie’s feral death growls for the first time – to the dying, desolate embers of grand finale “Impermanence Of Fate”, the new Oceans of Slumber album is simply the most immersive and fascinating piece of work the band have made. As added intrigue, guest stars Mikael Stanne of Swedish Melodic Death legends DARK TRANQUILLITY and MOONSPELL’s iconic frontman Fernando Ribeiro lend their vocal talents to “Run From The Light” and “Prayer” respectively. Steeped in the oppressive atmospheres of Doom, Death and Gothic Metal, but rendered using a spinning kaleidoscope of progressive musical shades, “Where The Gods Fear To Speak” idly defies categorization, while strenuously redefining the artistic formula that Oceans of Slumber have spent so many years refining.
“Where Gods Fear To Speak” track listing:
- Where Gods Fear to Speak
- Run from the Light
- Don’t Come Back from Hell Empty Handed
- Wish
- Poem of Ecstasy
- The Given Dream
- I Will Break the Pride of Your Will
- Prayer
- The Impermanence of Fate
- Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover)
You can listen to “The Given Dream” in the following video:
