Album Review: Oceans Of Slumber – The Banished Heart (Century Media Records)

Oceans of Slumber’s third album is one that is a reflection of love, loss ,struggle, surrender to the journey and the end. The Banished Heart is out on March 2nd 2018 via Century Media Records.

The themes that surround the new record from Oceans of Slumber are prevalent from the moment the album starts with The Decay of Disregard. The subtle intro builds nicely into a track that isn’t lacking in imagination. The off-centre rhythm & vocals playing off each other, plenty of groove but with a slightly disjointed edge. It’s an opener that keeps you on your toes as you try to keep up with Oceans of Slumber’s metal efforts, the chug of the guitars proving to be the highlight.

After a lengthy start, Fleeting Vigilance goes for a much harder & heavier approach with the tone turned down & the vocals roaring loudly. Not quite managing to hold the attention in the same way, it’s a decent guitar solo near the end that stands out.

A lot of what makes The Banished Heart an appealing listen are the sultry & emotive vocals of Cammie Gilbert. As well as delivering haunting melody she can also hit powerful highs too. On the flip side of that, the death metal roars that punctuate a lot of the tracks are a bit same old, same old. Not bad by any stretch but hardly fresh sounding.

You only have to listen to At Dawn to see the moments that have Gilbert letting loose impress & sound fairly unique while the throaty & guttural stuff fails to ignite.

The 9-minute title track is a hefty & emotional effort that really shows the range Oceans of Slumber have, Etiolation ups the heaviness factor, a more soulful style continues into the excellently melodic & guitar wild, A Path to Broken Stars. The latter is arguably the best track on the entire album.

An album that gets better the more it goes on, it settles nicely down & the eccentricities really start to make sense.

The final couple of songs; Her in the Distance, No Color No Light and Wayfaring Stranger are a blend of sombre melodies, reflective tunes & thought-provoking vocals. A trio of songs that actually see things out in a more subtle but equally as impressive way.

Oceans of Slumber – The Banished Heart Full Track Listing:

1. The Decay of Disregard
2. Fleeting Vigilance
3. At Dawn
4. The Banished Heart
5. The Watcher
6. Etiolation
7. A Path to Broken Stars
8. Howl of the Rougarou
9. Her in the Distance
10. No Color, No Light
11. Wayfaring Stranger

North American’s can order the album in a number of formats from Century Media Records’ store here while the rest of the world can order it here. The album will also be available via Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music below and earlier releases on Bandcamp. Find out more/keep up to date via Ocean of Slumber’s website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.