Album Review: Oceans Of Slumber - Starlight And Ash

It's always interesting when a band leaves metal behind. Questions will arise as to why they did it, and whether the original or new sound is the band's 'true' identity, but I think it's important to remember that we are not static creatures. We live, and through that experience we change. Asking anyone to stay exactly as they were for the entirety of their lives is stupid. Sure, you have bands like Motorhead who do that, but we can also ask if that was just a cynical business ploy to give the fans what they wanted over and over again.

Oceans Of Slumber are leaving behind the vestiges of doom metal that percolated through their first two albums, now tagging themselves as 'New Southern Gothic'. There are still a few hints of the dark heaviness of doom, but the music is now more acoustic, more centered on bluesy folk, and more akin to a Southern take on where Opeth has been in recent years. I can hear similarities in some of the guitar arpeggios, but Oceans Of Slumber, despite their name, are far more lively in bringing this sound to life.

The key to that is, of course, Cammie Beverly's voice. She has a vocal power Opeth never has, and she injects her performances with more colors and shades. Her tone sits between your typical rock singer and a deep blues bellow, which makes her a perfect fit for this record. Where Opeth can sound sleepy doing this, Oceans Of Slumber are patiently biding their time to explode.

"Starlight And Ash" is a powerful album, but in a different way than you might expect. There are moments, like the chorus of "Hearts Of Stone", that are heavy, but they are heavy because of the dynamic swell they provide from the quiet verses. Like a horror movie using a jump-scare, the band plays with dynamics to let the songs ebb and flow, twisting and building into something far more interesting than if they were plodding big doom chords all the way throughout.

The metal fans won't like to hear this, but by leaving much of that behind, Oceans Of Slumber has a wider array of sounds and emotions they can play with. Metal can be rather limiting, and the volume of it can make it hard for songs to express or evoke much of an emotional response. The feeling I get from this record is that Oceans Of Slumber wanted that connection, both to the music and to the audience, and this was the best way for them to achieve that. It would have been easy to make another heavier record, to continue their upward trajectory, but they went down the less traveled road instead.

That being said, every change comes with growing pains, and there are a few here. For one thing, even though the songs largely stay in the 4-5 minute range, the pacing of them can sometimes make them feel even longer than that. The slow burns are effective, but when every song is doing that, the record feels like it could use a bit more energy dotted in to keep things moving along. The other thing is the cover of "House Of The Rising Sun" near the end of the record. That song is such a cliche of Southern music, and it's been done hundreds of times already, it doesn't add anything here the rest of the record hasn't already done. It doesn't surprise in any way.

What that means is that Oceans Of Slumber have changed course, and they're definitely headed in the right direction. This new sound fits them wonderfully, and they show the potential for the devastating emotional crescendos they will be capable of. What they need is a bit of time to fully grow into this identity, and to learn how to best exploit it. All the pieces are hear, and it makes for quite an interesting listen, but there is a bit more honing of the songs that needs to be done before the band reaches their final form. I believe they can do it, and when they do, it will be glorious.

This is the first step to that end.