OCEANS OF SLUMBER are a New Southern Gothic band from Texas. "Starlight and Ash" is their fourth album with Cammie Beverley as vocalist. The album is released on Century Media.

I was introduced to Oceans of Slumber through Cammie's exquisite vocals on the song "Winter", the title track from her 1^st full album with the band (excluding Aetherial in 2013 with a different vocalist and the Blue EP). That song became my song of the year and the album my album of the year. The marriage of beautiful and achingly emotional melancholy, harsh vocals and heavy crunching guitar was intoxicating and continued through the follow up "The Banished Heart" and the rebirth through their self-titled album which is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion.

Now there's a new rebirth with Starlight and Ash. The harsh vocals, Prog-Metal leanings and heavy crunching metal guitar is gone but what is left is the beautiful and achingly emotional melancholy of Cammie Beverley married to a much more restrained musical backdrop.

There is a loose concept to the album where each song is from the perspective of the inhabitants of a fictitious town in the Deep South. It has to be said that lyrically this is dark stuff indeed and the term New Southern Gothic to describe the band is an apt one.

"The Waters Rising" starts the album in fine form with a very clear production and Cammie's gorgeous soulful vocals. The song ebbs and flows from gentle refrain to a powerful chorus and tells a story of lust and guilt.

"I'm drowning in your sorrow
In the belly of your cravings
In the darkness of your despair
I float face down."

There's some wonderful lyricism and storytelling throughout the album

"Hearts of Stone"

"You smile when you want to scream
And you lie so hard it cracks your teeth
You try everyday in vain
With thorns for hands and blades for veins."

If they say a picture can paint a thousand words, I would add a handful of words can paint a picture and with Cammie's stunning vocals (and she really excels on this album) the song paints a picture of loss and desperation.

The band have really taken a back-seat musically and let Cammie shine on this album like the star she is. A case in point is the achingly beautiful "The Hanging Tree". Cammie is phenomenal here and this was the second song of OCEANS OF SLUMBER's to bring me close to tears, "The Banished Heart" being the first. The minimalist drums and synths are perfect and it's a stunning song.

After that masterpiece, I did feel that "Salvation" was a bit plodding until the last minute where Cammie's vocals really soar over the male vocals. Most of the songs are fairly mid-paced and this one just failed to excite.

The rolling drums and crashing cymbals introduce "Star Altar's" melancholic journey about the abuse that women have to endure. There's some restrained heavy guitar which appears throughout the song accompanying Cammie's soaring vocals.

The musical piano interlude "The Spring of '21" segues into the gorgeous "Just A Day" which is one of my favourite songs on the album. It starts with piano and Cammie's delicate fragile vocals before crashing guitars and synths lead to a frenetic fast paced end to the song (hitting into familiar rock territory) before ending on a wall of distortion.

An excellent rendition of "House of The Rising Sun" is the perfect cover song for the style of this album before "The Shipbuilder's Son" ends the album on fine form, keeping in-tune with the overall musical theme.

OCEANS OF SLUMBER have reinvented themselves with an album that gives them an identity. The band has harnessed the power and beauty in Cammie's voice into a storyteller's dream of an album where each song is different yet follows a similar musical direction. Whilst it may alienate the Prog-Metal/Metal brigade, that really is their loss as the band have been influenced by their wide musical influences to create an emotional and thrilling tour-de-force.