Oceans of Slumber’s Where Gods Fear to Speak offers a haunting, post-apocalyptic soundscape, taking listeners on an emotional journey that merges raw intensity with delicate introspection.
This album—characterized by beautifully cathartic and poignant lyricism, and enhanced by tones, melodies, vocals, and raw musical elements—marks a return to the band’s heavier roots while delving into themes of love, survival, and societal decay. Following an opportunity to interview lead vocalist Cammie Beverley for Female Fronted Power in August, I lived a music aficionado’s dream: learning insights direct from the source and returning to their music with an even deeper appreciation for the music and artists who’ve created it.
Title Track and Concept
The title track, Where Gods Fear to Speak, serves as a centerpiece for the album’s concept. According to lead singer Cammie Beverley, it lays the foundation for the album’s overarching narrative: a journey through a dystopian world where each song represents a piece of a grander puzzle. “It’s made to mean something different for everyone,” Cammie noted, making the song an open question about life, existence, and the uncertainty of what lies beyond our understanding. The song’s sharp juxtaposition of growling vocals and delicate harmonies underscores this complex exploration.
Vocal Evolution
This album also brings new layers to Cammie’s vocal abilities. In Where Gods Fear to Speak, her debut of harsh vocals adds an unexpected ferocity that fans have been eagerly awaiting. “People were pretty stoked to have me finally growling,” she shares, capturing the excitement surrounding this stylistic shift. Paired with the intricate instrumentation, the growls add depth, complementing the underlying tension that pervades the record. From the first track onwards, Cammie’s vocals were dynamic, at times chilling, and melodically distinct from any other new release I’ve heard this year.
Intimate Perspectives
Another standout track, Poem of Ecstasy, offers a more intimate perspective, zooming in on a love story within the album’s dystopian world. Cammie highlights the complexity of love in turbulent times, saying, “No matter where we are or what’s happening, there’s always room for love.” The band’s ability to intertwine love and tragedy provides an emotional anchor in an otherwise chaotic life. It’s a reminder that, even amidst destruction and despair, love remains a vital and fragile part of the human experience.
Visual and Thematic Cohesion
One of the album’s most compelling elements is its visual and thematic cohesion. The music video for Where Gods Fear to Speak introduces the art of Shibari, representing a duality between pleasure and pain, ritual and sacrifice. “It was really neat, and it definitely pushed the limits of what I thought I could do,” Cammie reflects, adding an immersive visual layer to the album’s darker themes. The band’s willingness to experiment with both sound and visuals deepens the sense of immersion, making the album feel like more than just a collection of songs—it’s an expansive experience.
Recording Process
This artistic evolution is reflected in the album’s recording process. Oceans of Slumber took a different approach by heading to Bogotá, Colombia, to record, seeking to immerse themselves in an environment far removed from their day-to-day lives. “We wanted to go somewhere that inspired us, in a place where people believe everything is DIY,” Cammie explains. The rich, turbulent history of Bogotá, with its juxtaposition of warmth and hardship, seeped into the music, adding a layer of authenticity and emotional weight. The city’s palpable tension and beauty mirror the album’s lyrical themes of survival, resilience, and the human condition.
Balancing Old and New Sounds
In terms of sound, Where Gods Fear to Speak strikes a delicate balance between the band’s earlier, heavier work and the more subdued, reflective elements of Starlight and Ash. While Cammie acknowledges that Starlight and Ash was a departure from their heavier sound, she explains that the band’s style is always evolving in response to the world around them. “We’re not just making music for entertainment,” she emphasizes. “Times changed, the world got very agitated… It was time to make a different album and bring a force to recognize what we’re feeling.”.
Notable Collaborations
The band’s collaborations were also notable highlights for this release: Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne’s distinctive growls can be heard on the second track, Run From the Light, adding a raw intensity to the track. Equally compelling is the eighth track, Prayer, which features Fernando Ribeiro showcasing his hauntingly melodic voice, creating a powerful and atmospheric piece.
Musical Elements
The musical elements themselves work incredibly well together. Cammie’s vocals, as mentioned earlier, are distinct both on this album and, perhaps more importantly, in metal itself—this is a particular style that sets the band apart from many other bands seeing commercial success in the global metal scene. It has qualities that could easily be well-blended with many other genres. It’s evident throughout the album, but is especially notable in her vocal performance during The Impermanence of Fate.
The orchestration is always present and supporting the song’s layers without being overbearing or distracting. Dobber Beverley’s drums are well-executed, and guitars stand out in moments precisely when they serve the song the best without dominating the mix. There’s a clear signature sound, perhaps influenced by black metal, symphonic metal, and certainly influences from many non-metal styles. The music blends together down-toned guitars, subtle synth elements, piano, orchestration, and many other elements to create the dystopian, post-apocalyptic atmosphere.The songs themselves are beautifully written. The structure, including dynamic changes, instrumental sections, and intervals between clean and rough vocals, all work to hold listeners’ interest. There are beautifully complementary harmonies throughout the album, and Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed incorporated some particularly memorable haunting harmonies between growls. Piano intros and interludes added moments of reprieve between moments of palpable tension.
This album feels like a return to the band’s core: a genre-bending exploration of human emotion. Yet, while the return to heavier elements will please longtime fans, there’s also an undeniable emotional heaviness present throughout the album. Cammie points out that, like Starlight and Ash, the themes are deeply personal and reflective, but now they are amplified by the intense anger and frustration associated with an increasingly turbulent sociopolitical climate.
Ultimately, Where Gods Fear to Speak is not just an album; it’s a cathartic experience in a time where society is forced to advance, adapt, and reinvent itself. Oceans of Slumber has long been known for tapping into parts of the human psyche that we’d often like to ignore, and this record is no exception. Cammie encapsulates this sentiment when she says, “People need to get something out, to feel seen and heard.” The album offers that release, allowing listeners to reflect on love, survival, and the world’s ever-changing landscape, all while being swept away by the band’s relentless, dynamic sound.
Final Thoughts
Where Gods Fear to Speak is Oceans of Slumber at their most visceral at a time when the metal scene could perhaps use it the most. The album resonates because it dares to confront not just fantasy or escapism, but the real, raw struggles of existence—whether that be through love, hardship, or societal collapse. It’s an album that demands to be felt as much as it is heard. If you’re looking for something that’s as many parts cinematic as it is intensely cathartic, then Where Gods Fear to Speak is a must-listen.
Favourite Tracks: Run From the Light, The Impermanence of Fate
Track Listing:
01. Where Gods Fear to Speak
02. Run From the Light
03. Don’t Come Back from Hell Empty Handed
04. Wish
05. Poem of Ecstasy
06. The Given Dream
07. I Will Break the Pride of Your Will
08. Prayer
09. The Impermanence of Fate
10. Wicked Game