This time last year, Oceans of Slumber gifted fans a sneak peak at their new album with the piano medley “Poem of Fire”. The Texas trailblazers of progressive metal have never bowed to convention, but on Where Gods Fear to Speak, they reached new, dark cinematic heights. This year, the band toured North America with Lacuna Coil and New Years Day before topping the charts at college radio and critics’ year-end lists.
They’ve never been afraid of breaking boundaries, but with their new album, Oceans of Slumber have taken their vision for progressive metal to dark, cinematic new heights.
Despite the many accolades that they’ve received over the past decade, Oceans of Slumber have never rested on their laurels. The Houston heavies have come to redefine the Southern Gothic by casting their tales of hope and despair against an ever-shifting backdrop of progressive metal. While it was produced by their long-time collaborator and GRAMMY nominee Joel Hamilton, the band’s sixth album and first for Season of Mist expands their vision to dark, cinematic new heights.
Though revered by critics and peers, Oceans of Slumber bow to no one. For more than a decade, the Houston band have spurred prevailing trends in both the metal scene and the American South. Instead of adhering to conventional wisdom or slapping a new coat of paint on the same old ideas, they’ve remade the Southern Gothic in their own progressive image, casting tales of hope and despair against an ever-shifting backdrop of melodic death, doom and black metal.
Since their star turn in 2016, Oceans of Slumber have included a cover song on all of their albums. As expected for a band that defies any and all conventions, the list of covers spans far beyond the metal realms, ranging from goth to blues rock, baroque pop and classic American folk.
Though they proudly hail from the fiery heart of Houston, Texas, Oceans of Slumber are always pushing toward the next frontier. Back in May, while on tour with Lacuna Coil and New Years Day, the band gave a first glimpse at their upcoming sixth album with a spellbinding video for its boundless title track.
Oceans of Slumber defy any and all convention. For the past 15 years, the Houston band have come to redefine what it means to be Southern Gothic by mixing melodic death, doom and black metal with subtle electronic flourishes and the overpowering heat of their hometown. Now, after signing with Season of Mist, they’re extending their progressive streak even further by envisioning a dark and cinematic new subgenre that’s theirs and theirs alone.
The end of each year is a welcome time for reflection. Oceans of Slumber have spent the winter immersed in the vibrant lifeblood of Bogotá, Colombia. They’ve have wrapped themselves in the city’s intense emotions of longing. But after signing to Season of Mist in 2023, the progressive metal band are also embracing the powerful force of change while recording their new album.