Review Summary: Modern progressive music that brings the feels. As rare as hen’s teeth.
As years pass, it’s only natural for some of us to idealize the past. Nothing will ever surpass the first time we jammed our favorite bands and of course, one common complaint is that music nowadays simply lacks the emotional foundation it had in one’s favorite era. The problem becomes even more frequent with progressive metal. It’s no lie that kids today can play but can they
really perform? Can they combine technique with songwriting and at the same time connect with their audience?
Winter is Oceans of Slumber’s second LP but come to think of it, it’s actually their introduction to their audience. One reason is that they have matured greatly since their debut and thankfully shed most of their metal/death-core elements. In addition, this is their first release with female singer Cammie Gilbert, which alone is a game-changer. Classifying Oceans of Slumber as a female-fronted act is an injustice; Cammie’s vocal approach is the exact opposite of your typical female-fronted band. She’s never over the top, not once does she utilize an operatic register and ethereal is not an adjective you’d use to describe her voice. Instead of engaging in acrobatics, her delivery is soulful, bluesy, colorful and powerful. Her performance on the cover version of The Moody Blues’ classic “Nights in White Satin” is enough to give the song a different dimension and a testament to her abilities.
Moreover, even though the instrumentation is progressive in a metal environment, calling it progressive metal would be inaccurate. The music isn’t flashy or overly demanding and there’s no trace of wankery. Oceans of Slumber create soundscapes with changes on tempo and dynamics while there are plenty of cathartic breaks with increased pace scattered throughout. For example, on “Devout” one can find clean female vocals over extreme instrumentation including blastbeats and brutal male singing while “Suffer the Last Bridge” includes mainstream melodic lines that are succeeded by more complex metal passages. In addition, the introduction of “Sunlight” could easily find its place on a modern Anathema record while “Apologue”, the most extreme track on here, has some early Opeth and My Dying Bride vibes. Album opener “Winter” is a fairly representative sample of the LP, as it meshes different vocal styles, tempo changes, is adventurous but at the same time emotional.
One thing that is apparent by looking at the track list is the high number of preludes/interludes. Nevertheless, they don’t feel unnecessary as they are used to close and open various scenes. “Lullaby”, which succeeds “Nights in White Satin”, closes the first chapter with a mesmerizing yet earthly a cappella performance while the acoustic guitar of “Laid to Earth” opens the second scene. The same is achieved with the flute-fused folk of “Good Life”, the ambient “How Tall the Trees” and the instrumental “Grace” that if it had lyrics would be an ideal Nina Simone tribute.
However, although it feels fresh, stating that
Winter is the apotheosis of innovation would be wrong. The songwriting on here seems to have been taken from the Opeth playbook albeit in a rather tasteful manner. One thing about Opeth though, whether one likes them or not, is not only the antithesis they create, but the strength of the death metal parts. Oceans of Slumber haven’t yet excelled at that component; when they inject to their music the extreme metal elements, it doesn’t sound as special as the rest of the album and the drumming is somewhat trite.
To sum up,
Winter is a pleasant surprise that derives not only from the fusion of all the different influences but because the backbone of the album is based on emotion. The fact that progressive is not used simply as a tag, but is in the very nature of the album, makes it a special listen for connoisseurs of the genre and not only.
