The addition of Gilbert has allowed the band to hone their style of progressive metal in to a more focused, less spazzy, random sound and really expand the boundaries of progressive metal. Immediate and inaccurate comparisons are going to be made to Alexis Brown of Straight Line Stitch , but she isn’t like her or most female singers that’s either just eye candy or a soprano/operatic presence. She has a soulful, bluesy, jazz lounge voice that you could hear on any r and b radio station. Fear not though, the other members provide a few growls a screams here and there to keep things a little more extreme.

But for the most part, the  album is a smooth, svelte prog metal record. Even with a few blasts, growls and chugging metal riffs. That said the sticker on the CD cover citing Opeth (maybe viable on Aetherial), Everygrey, and Amorphis is a little misleading. One only look at label mates Karyn Crisis’s Gospel of the Witch for a more realistic comparison. And this is much more of a straight rock album leaning more towards Rush, Tool, and dare I say even Killswitch Engage or Evanescence (possibly why they are no no longer on metal-archives?) for an idea as to the album’s pacing and mood.  It’s a very controlled, restrained album with a somber, smoky mood, with only a few injections of death/black metal aggression littering the proggy, keyboard filled, introspective haze such a few moments of the title track, “Devout” or “Apologue”.

Regardless, the high light of the album is Gilbert. Her performance accentuates the album’s languid hues and softer textures. Sure, this is a metal album, but those looking for something truly extreme might look elsewhere, as this is much more engaging, enthralling and challenging listen with lots of softer moments, piano breaks, balladic moments and interludes. The opening title track will give you a good idea what to expect with soft, relaxing opening few moments and metallic peak and close. In fact, purist metalheads might gripe at the amount of softer ballad-ish material on the album, as the likes of ‘Lullaby, “Laid to Rest”, “This Road”, “Grace”, standout, “Turpentine”, “Good Life” and How the Tall Trees” make up a large, more introspective chunk of the album.

But there is some metal along with the aforementioned “Devout” and “Apologue” , even if still pretty laid back as “Suffer the last Bridge” “Sunlight” and my personal favorite from the album, cover of ‘Night in White Satin” add just a little more bite within the sultry, smoky haze. My only real gripe is that the production really doesn’t jump from the speakers. With a production like say Barishi’s self titled 2014 EP, this thing would have bee utterly alive. But this is still a pretty awesome if different, less metal band from the debut, but in a better way and one of the more engaging releases of 2016 so far.

Despite the somber moniker, what we have here is a massive mix of styles covering a large spectrum of metal; mostly prog, thrash and death metal. I’ll just give you a list of bands that Oceans of Slumber cite is likes and references as that would be much easier than me trying to explain everything I hear in this vast musical collage;  Gorjira. Devin Townsend, King Crimson, Soilwork, Faith No More, Disincarnate– just to name a few. And frankly I hear all of those in Aetherial, as hard as that is to digest.  And while that large list of tangible influences might seem like a mess, Oceans of Slumber pull it off admirably, resulting in a very impressive and ambitious album that should have appeal to a large cross section of fans.

A couple of lesser know bands I hear in Oceans of Slumber‘s sound that are off the beaten path are the UK’s Monsterworks and  and France’s Kalisia, a band who also meld a large array of influences into one large cohesive, sci fi themed conceptual outfit. And so with Aetherial you get a dash of everything backed by solid musicianship and writing. There’s blast beats, death metal growls, smooth atmospheric transitions sections, widdly solos, burly angular chugging, deft jazzy riffs, clean croons and everything in between. It is initially a bit overwhelming, but the strength of the songs and the skill of the members keep everything together.

Opener “God in Skin” give you a pretty good indication of Oceans of Slumber’s sprawling, ambitious sound, but there’s simply curveballs and tangents around every corner of every song. it’s never quite as busy or spazzy as say Journal, another self released ambitious gem from 2010, as the restrained lopes and lurches are never completely unfettered and the svelte prog tendencies keep everything reigned in. Ironically, second track “Coffins Like Kites” actually starts with a doom metal riff goes through a urgent spurt, and a spacey, proggy Floyd-ian drift. , highlighting the bands array of styles.

As you have probably gatherer, Aetherial isn’t a quick easy listen. Fro example, “Memoriam” gives you a little bit of breathing room with a semi sort of ballad that comes across like Pantera‘s cover of “Planet Caravan”, before shifting into a fierce almost black metal tinged salvo.  And while this all over the place style has some downfalls as far as attention span, there is no denying the scope of the band’s sound in indeed admirable. Case and point the track that follows the almost fluid “Memoriam”, “Remedy” has the choppy backbone of a Watchtower-y thrashy number but injects shimmery, spacial solos and celestial atmospherics before a big sprawling melodic, FNM bridge and lead.

But of course, these vast levels of style interplay come at a price, as there often may be too much going on for many listeners, especially curious grindcore fans interested in drummer Dobber Beverly’s involvement. The jarring difference between restrained radio ready rocker “Only a Corpse” and the hulking death metal start of the title track, just might simply be a little too ambitious for some. I’ll admit, with the long songs and constant style kaleidoscope, that by the time the seventh 7th track “Primordial”, with its pure black metal screech and blast rolls around, I’m a little exhausted, and that’s before the 9 minute closer “Great Divide”. But those willing to challenge themselves and check out a challenging band that ignores genres and conventions might find a lot to like about Oceans of Slumber and I for one hope they develop from more of a sideshow curiosity/project into a very promising outfit that will command some more attention over the next couple of years.