By John Sturm
In the accompanying press release for debut album Aetherial, Houston natives Oceans of Slumber state that labeling them is "never quite as easy as one would think" and that "musical classification is of no interest to the band". Which is a bit of a bugger really as it is my job to describe to you what kind of band/album you will have on your plate once you press play. Hmmm how about this....
You know when you have a chain of thought that seems to make random leaps from one subject to another. Something like 'ooh I'm cold.... Wonder how a plane actually stays up in the air.... I could really do with a big slab of cake right now..... Hey look! A bee!.... Did I turn the gas off?..... Mmmmm cake' - those kind of thoughts. Well that's what Oceans of Slumber are like - one minute you're spiraling though a jazz odyssey the next it's all gone a bit Burzum but hold on a second where did this mellow bit come from woah hold up we're breaking out the mosh riff now.
Yes...... A bit like that.
None of this is really surprising with a drummer is from grind merchants Insect Warfare and a highly proficient jazz guitar player. Equally at home blasting you in the eardrums with a gazillion notes second as well as blissfully melodic passages that make you weep; this is truly a progressive band in the very truest sense of the word. Able to seamlessly segue from style to style without it feeling like a cut-and-paste-in-Pro-Tools exercise.
And it's not just the music that is a tour-de-force either. Singer Ronnie Allen demonstrates the unbelievable variations that the human voice is capable of from the guttural grunts from Satan's deepest bowel to a surprisingly melodic voice which at times conjures up Robb Flynn meets Mile Patton. And drummer Dobber Beverly needs to be heard to be believed. It would come as no surprise to me if I was to be shown a photo of him and he did indeed have 3 arms. Either that or Doctor Octopus has given up trying to annoy Spiderman and has taken up drumming.
I've not gone into a track by track review for good reasons. Mainly because there is not enough space on the Internet (as a whole) for me to adequately cover them in full and also this is really an album to be heard. There really is something for everyone on here (If you’re a fan of heavy music that is. If you’re looking for drum n bass-reggaeton-soul-funk you’re shit outta luck. Sorry). Not a fan of shouty vocals? Fear not, there'll be some singing coming up. Not a fan of girly melodic guitars? Stand near the bass bin then as some shards of metal are heading your way in a short moment.
Now, did someone mention cake?
