STARLIGHT AND ASH

Originally written for theprogmind.com

It is a delight to see a band on the rise, to watch as a band ascends to their throne. I've been watching the dawn of Oceans of Slumber for several years now, and I suspect that their reign over the metal scene is only just beginning. Their new album Starlight and Ash is releasing on July 22nd through Century Media.

Oceans of Slumber comes to us from Houston, Texas; and for the first time in the career, I think that really matters. The band has changed and morphed through the years, switching out personas and musicians. The current lineup is: Cammie Gilbert on vocals, Jessie Santos and Alexander Lucian on guitars, Semir Ozerkan on bass, Dobber Beverly on drums and piano, and Mat Aleman and keys.

Where do I even start with this record? I have long possessed an ideal for Oceans of Slumber, a vision of what they could and should be. Through the years, the band has slowly been inching towards that goal line; from dark, extremely technical metal to their most recent high on their 2020 eponymous album and its emotional, passionate melodic metal. Yet, even with that masterpiece, a part of me still wanted them to keep pushing.

Starlight and Ash is the realization of what Oceans of Slumber has always been. On this record, the band explores a deeply southern Gothic metal with all the trappings. When I say "southern", I do in fact mean that the band allows themselves some twang, specifically the salty air variety from southern Texas. The twang is less country and more classic rock and blues, if you ask me. But there is another side to this record, too. I hear two distinctly southern traditions, and the second is a deeper, darker New Orleans sort of sound: swamps, voodoo, and all. Cammie, at one time, was working on a project with that focus; I'm not sure what became of that, but the theme has shown up here. I appreciate that, and will savor here every bit of beauty and ruin, creation and destruction, harmony and tumult.

What does that mean for their overall sound? Oceans of Slumber is still a metal band and they still have plenty of heavier, riffier moments. However, this album is much more reserved and evocative than their past creations. Some of the songs are slower, lingering with pride on the gravy drippings of Cammie's emotional voice and perfect delivery. In fact, I would say that this album has some of the best choruses and vocal lines in general that the band has every conceived. This album gorges itself upon every luscious note, every enrapturing melody, every entrancing song.

What we get is an album that is heavy, not only in the typical metal way, but also lyrically, spiritually, and emotionally. It hangs and hovers with such passion, suggesting that the band is finally at ease with who they are. Yes, this album flows more naturally than any that came before, and the release of that tension leads us down many savory paths that could only be discovered here and now. This results in a palpable potency in each and every track.

Starlight and Ash has eleven songs, and I love every single one. The first four tracks are impressive right away on first listen, and I feel like the rest get better with age. "The Waters Rising" starts the album with such a delicious tempo that I knew I was in for something special; I love the heaviness of the guitars on this track. "Hearts of Stone" is even better with its stuttering main riff and explosive second half; Cammie's vocals here are stunning. "The Lighthouse" is a sauntering sort of ballad with southern air in its lungs?I really like the bluesy tempo of the chorus and the subtle guitar touches throughout. "Red Forest Roads" might be my favorite on the album. It is possibly the heaviest song overall, or at least fastest, but only in the second half. The song takes its time, giving us plenty of time to savor and relish before it launches into a superb new chorus that is simply infectious. It is an arresting song that you won't soon forget.

I really need to mention each and every track on this one; I can't help myself. I always look forward to the echoing, juicy ballad "The Hanging Tree", which also has some of my favorite lyrics on the album. "Salvation" is just as good with slow-burning religion, including the baritone backing vocals that come in near the end. "Star Altar" is something of an abstract and off-kilter song with some seriously expressive vocals. "The Spring of 21" is a piano piece from Dobber, who typically offers one such track on each album; I think this might be his best yet with how layered and sensitive it is.

The final three tracks are all winners, too. "Just a Day" is the longest track on the record, and it leads directly in from "The Spring of 21" with Dobber's gorgeous piano. In fact, this song feels very much like a love song between Cammie and Dobber, from the vulnerable lyrics to the illustrious atmosphere. It gets going with dark riffs and an upbeat temp eventually, and the whole thing just feels doomy and fresh at the same time. "House of the Rising Sun" is a cover of the legendary folk song, and, as much as I normally hate covers, this band has earned my trust through both this song and their previous cover of Type O Negative's "Wolf Moon". They really make this one their own, injecting a haunting, evocative aura into it, and Cammie emotes and annunciates in riveting fashion. Finally, "The Shipbuilder's Son" closes the record with power; I love how it transitions into a theatrical vocal musing in the middle before exploding one last time.

Oceans of Slumber, in my view, are finally living up to their dreamy name. This album has all the darkness, macabre, and gothic tones you could want, but also rich, detailed, storied character and warmth worthy of the region they call home. It just makes you want to mine every depth of this record and sing along to every painstaking moment. Starlight and Ash, indeed.

"It's going to be more experimental." "We're taking our established sound and expanding it." "This will be our darkest record yet." So many bands make these claims before a new release, only to backpedal and make the exact same album as before. However, upon hearing the first few songs on Starlight and Ash, it became very clear to me that Oceans of Slumber would stay true to their word and do something different this time around. Instead of continuing on with the progressive doom sound that had become their signature, they decided to pare things down and draw inspiration from the very land they were formed upon. Now, I need to make something very clear: this doesn't mean the sextet have abandoned everything that made them who they are. You still get Cammie Gilbert's expressive vocals, frequent dynamic shifts, and the same melancholic atmosphere the band have always been known for. However, the way they approach these elements has changed significantly.

So what do I mean by "the very land they were formed upon"? Well, it's actually very literal: Starlight and Ash takes the members' Texan roots and brings them closer to the forefront. The death growls and epic song lengths have all but disappeared, making way for lean cuts of southern gothic doom rock ? yes, most of the metal has been stripped away on this project as well. Once in a while you'll get a song like "Star Altar" or "Just a Day", both of which harken back to the band's earlier material, but the majority of Starlight and Ash is spent exploring previously uncharted sonic territory. Single "The Lighthouse" was certainly a sign of things to come, marked by an acoustic guitar motif that must have been ripped straight out of an old spaghetti western movie. But other songs go even further to establish the band's newfound experimentation, such as the hypnotic gothic rock of "The Hanging Tree" and the lovely solo piano piece "The Spring of 21"; these tunes retain Oceans of Slumber's usual brand of melancholic beauty while taking them into exciting new directions.

The band members themselves have also scaled back their performances, and nowhere is this more important than with our two main songwriters, the spousal duo of Gilbert and drummer Dobber Beverly. Instead of frequently relying on the dramatic belting of the former and the over-the-top drum fills of the latter, both have opted for a more understated approach this time around. In the case of Gilbert, this serves to make the climaxes even more powerful; opener "The Waters Rising", serves as a prime example, as she finally lets loose midway through the song after two minutes of anxious buildup. Combined with the ever-quickening tempo, it's a legitimately exciting payoff. Beverly, meanwhile, has revamped his playing style to compliment each song without being too flashy; occasionally you'll still get overly technical flights of fancy, but they're not nearly as prominent as before. Of course, I also can't downplay how effective the shortened song lengths are on Starlight and Ash: despite the relative lack of metal on the record, the tightened song structures and arrangements ironically give the material much more urgency. "The Hanging Tree" and "Hearts of Stone" are just as slow and doomy as what you'll find on previous records, but because of how much content they pack into just four minutes each, nothing comes across as meandering ? a common problem with their earlier work.

With all of that said, there's still room for improvement. For all the praise I've given the group for their willingness to experiment, some of the results don't quite hit the mark. The cover of "House of the Rising Sun" is probably the worst offender, as it simply seems out of place; in fact, aside from some nice violin work, there's not much to speak of. The song doesn't build up to anything particularly interesting, instead opting to remain in generic ballad territory throughout its runtime; if there's any song on the record that could have benefitted from an explosive climax, it's this one. Still, I have to commend Oceans of Slumber for even attempting an album like this. I suppose only time will tell whether Starlight and Ash ends up being a transitional record or a one-off experiment, but what we received in the meantime is quite the compelling experience. Even if you've been disappointed with the group's past efforts, I still suggest giving this one a try; it might just convert you.