Texan prog metal quintet Oceans Of Slumber will release their sixth studio album Where Gods Fear To Speak through Season Of Mist Records on September 13.
It’s the band’s first for their new label and they have just shared their latest single from the upcoming album, The Given Dream, which you can listen to below. The song features a powerhouse of a vocal performance from singer Cammie Beverly.
“This is one of the most tiring songs to sing on the album”, Beverly explains. “I’m belting from the beginning. Going from a belt to soprano back to a belt is not a break. Singing soprano takes more breath than singing mid-range or alto. You have to hold your vocal cords tight.”
“We’re pre-programmed with this dream of how our lives are supposed to turn out”, Dobber Beverly, band leader, drummer and Cammie’s husband says of the new single. “The white picket fence. A career at the tech company down the road. Two and a half kids to go along with the ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ poster on your wall”.
“Buying into that idea will make you feel like you’re on the right track,” adds Cammie. “When really, we’re just blinded. That dream doesn’t exist”.
The epic new single is in keeping with the wildly diverse selection of music on offer on Where Gods Fear To Speak, which includes a moody cover of Chris Isaak’s 1989 hit Wicked Game.
“We were watching a lot of dystopian sci-fi films and TV shows,”says Dobber. “I had just bought a Le Gibet synthesizer. Hearing the big stabbing synth lines that are in a lot of those soundtracks gave me the idea to open The Given Dream as if an alarm was going off in the listener’s head.
“I played those loops myself in real-time, all one take. I actually like Portishead, Sneaker Pimps and all those other trip-hop bands from the ’90s. With this song, I wanted to remake that dub style with a big heavy part at the end.”
Pre-order Where Gods Fear To Speak.
Oceans of Slumber – “The Given Dream” (Official Audio) – YouTube 