Every two years, a new Oceans Of Slumber album arrives and leaves something for the listener to unpack and immerse themselves in over repeated spins. Starlight And Ash from 2022 required even more patience, with its gorgeous, gothic-drenched folk tales almost completely eschewing the band’s heavier leanings. While it was another piece of evidence that the Texans’ talents should be vastly more well-known and appreciated, the record saw them agonisingly come up against the same glass ceiling. Now equipped with a new label and a duo of six-stringers, the band’s combative and adventurous nature shows no sign of waning on the vengeful monster that is their sixth album.
Much like percussion supremos Brann Dailor and Pete Sandoval, it’s chief mastermind Dobber Beverly’s drums that sit front and centre of the music, conducting its thrilling twists and emotionally shattering depths. Yet no mention of Oceans Of Slumber is complete without reference to the mesmerising vocals of Cammie Gilbert-Beverly, who finds new ways of adapting and dominating proceedings. Whether it’s soulful melancholy or her first recorded attempts at growls that shine in their twisted, mutant form, her voice soars over delicate keys, a maelstrom of notes, synths and some of the doomiest riffs you’ll hear all year in the likes of Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed and The Impermanence Of Fate.
