Hello! What happened here?!
For your last slice OCEANS OF SLUMBERS didn’t exactly get top marks from me. Accordingly, I was skeptical before listening to the new lathe operator for the first time “Starlight And Ash“. But the Texans once again live up to their reputation as unpredictable, constant developers of their sound cosmos. But the fact that large parts of the former sound costume are thrown overboard and their musical concept is reinvented with the fifth full-length release, has me then I was very (positively!) surprised.
what we on “Starlight And Ash” get to hear is again a mix of styles that cannot be pigeonholed. This time the metal elements have been cut back significantly, the same applies to the overflowing prog components, which at times made listening to the predecessor extremely difficult. This time exceptional singer Cammie and her instrumental crew enchant the audience with set pieces from dark, gothic, southern and (subtle) prog rock, paired with intensive doom passages and lots of blues. In addition, they also shy away from the use of post-elements (especially in the first two tracks “The Waters Rising” and “Hearts Of Stone”), and add a few additional, extremely exciting ones to the already impressive musical diversity of the album nuances.
“The Lighthouse” is a terrific blend of melancholic, pain-stricken blues and magic-infused southern doom dark rock, with a beguiling vocal performance from Cammie. The excellent video for the song is also highly recommended. “Red Forest Roads” begins cautiously but increases in the further course and culminates in a furious finale accompanied by double bass staccato. In “The Hanging Tree” there is no such outburst at the end, but the consistently quiet track knows how to convince in all respects.
“Salvation” is Dark Blues par excellence with a Gothic/Doom Metal finish to die for. And the next track also begins wonderfully doomy. “Star Altar” sounds a bit (and that’s not a criticism, but a compliment!) like a post/art rock-heavy number from AVATARIUM. Terrific! Afterwards, an enchanting piano instrumental performance relaxes the inclined listening audience and invites them to close their eyes and dream.
“Just A Day” also starts with quiet piano sounds and Cammie’s clear, almost fragile voice. The first part of the track is calm and minimalist before the song turns into a doom/gothic metal number that gets under your skin. One could think that due to the large number of existing versions, no further interpretation of the classic “House Of The Rising Sun” would really have been necessary. But this variant here from OCEANS OF SLUMBER in its reduction and supported above all by Cammie’s singing and the poignant instrumentation by violin and cello knows how to inspire and convince completely. Goosebumps are guaranteed!
After this state-of-the-art presentation, the album closer has it of course anything but easy. But OCEANS OF SLUMBRER once again dig deep into the trademark box and fill the five-minute playing time of “The Shipbuilder’s Son” with everything that characterizes the new album: from soft to hard, from blues to prog, from dark to doom. And that’s how a truly great long player ends almost perfectly.
Conclusion:
Wow! What a difference! In 2020, the self-titled predecessor was only able to convince me to some extent, but I’m just blown away by the current release. OCEANS OF SLUMBER have subjected their musical direction to a comprehensive and radical makeover that has really paid off. And so it is not surprising that this is also clearly noticeable in the current award of points.