I’m feeling overwhelmed in the best way when I think of the new music I’ve heard lately. Even though I had previously heard their name, I only began exploring music by the band Oceans of Slumber in the last couple of years.
When I received an email about their latest single and video, I felt confident I’d like it but I wouldn’t be writing this if I merely liked it. With 2024 being their 15th year as a band, I’m glad to make up for lost time after originally having their single ”Poem of Fire” on repeat toward the end of last year. Fittingly, that track is an instrumental that could be seen as a bridge to the awesome single and title track of their upcoming record, Where Gods Fear to Speak.
One of the main things that stood out about "Poem of Fire" to me was that I thought it could fit perfectly as the soundtrack of a movie trailer. Whether you’d believe it to be a coincidence or not, one of the first things I read with multi-instrumentalist Dobber Beverly describing Oceans of Slumber’s music as “Dark Cinematic Metal.”
It seems his gift for music composition allows him to describe his music also in verbal form which is rare to find. Ultimately, though, the focus right now is the Josh Vargas-directed video and the fact that some of you will have a chance to experience Oceans of Slumber live soon.
In the video for "Where Gods Fear to Speak," we initially see what looks like a somewhat standard performance video. There are artfully shot scenes of the singer Cammie Beverly, and also three cloaked figures that seem to be in a similar or maybe the same all-white room as the band but it isn’t clear. By the time we’re a minute into the video, one of the cloaked figures has Cammie on the floor with a chain and collar around her neck.
Within the next minute, all three figures will be surrounding Cammie as she is now strung up in Shibari. A type of torture bondage derived from what was originally known as Kinbaku in Japan and is now associated with BDSM. While this bondage can be both an expression of dominance or stolen power; the lyrics don’t point towards the lust of flesh as much as they do the manipulation of the mind.
While a section of lyrics is inspired by a passage from the Christian Bible, this isn’t a song professing faith or advocating for it. If anything, this is a visual treatment of just how abusive or oppressive faith can be to experience. Depending on how you grow up, faith can be understood to be a choice or something forced on you that seems to steal life from you and lead to a rigid life of mindless repetition.
I appreciate the vulnerability on display both in the lyrics and the video. Examining and expressing your feelings about your upbringing as Cammie is doing on this song is hard enough, and then taking on this physically demanding part for the video shows how personal this song is.
Throughout "Where Gods Fear to Speak," you hear how Cammie could sing a great R&B song and then you’ll be knocked out as her stunning growl pierces your eardrums. The delicate balance of rhythmic bombast and melodies that keep you wanting more is a chemistry that is hard to find but the collective members in Oceans of Slumber have me stunned.
The way Dobber’s drumming can shift from a solid and seemingly simple doom part to blistering blasts is another great reminder to keep practicing my drumming. His drumming is enhanced by the bassist, Samir Ozerkan, and the guitar duo of Alex Davis and Chris Kritikos seem to pluck at the emotional strings of the listener simultaneously when they play their guitars.
Oceans of Slumber is about to head out on tour alongside New Years Day as they will be both opening for Lacuna Coil’s Ignite the Fire tour. This two-week trek is primarily routed on the East Coast and in the Midwest, starting in Delaware on the second of May:
Additional Headlining tour dates:
Conduit May 8th in Orlando, FL
Crowbar May 9th in Tampa, FL
Southport Hall May 12th in New Orleans, LA
Gabe's May 16th in Iowa City, IA
Make sure to not pass up this opportunity if they are coming through your area and show your support for Oceans of Slumber by pre-ordering their sixth album, first for Season of Mist, now set for release on the 13th of September.
Tagged: oceans of slumber
