Oceans of Slumber from Texas are a female fronted prog metal band. Now, many of you might want to stop reading here because all female fronted metal sounds the same, right? Not Oceans of Slumber – they can out-prog any band in a 1000 mile radius according to their bio, and for once the band's bio is not even an exaggeration.
How prog are Oceans of Slumber? There's hints of doom, hints of extreme metal (blast beats for the lovers), all drenched with the jazzy, soulful voice of vocalist Cammie Gilbert, who officially has entered my top 10 of all-time favorite female metal singers.
If you think Winter combines all the corners of the metal universe, there is an extra surprise: a cover of “Nights in White Satin” - and boy, did they make a heart-wrenching cover of that song: it's way darker than the original, full of love-infused despair, and then it gets topped off with blast beats.
To conclude: Winter by Oceans of Slumber is a masterpiece. I already bought the album and have it at home, before submitting my review – so that kinda says it all... Certainly one of the best albums of the year, and one of the best female fronted metal albums in a long time.
Tracklist
- Winter
- Devout
- Nights In White Satin
- Lullaby
- Laid To Rest
- Suffer The Last Bridge
- Good Life
- Sunlight
- Turpentine
- Apologue
- How Tall The Trees
- ... This Road
- Grace
Label: Century Media
https://www.facebook.com/oceansofslumber/
Score: 9,5/10
