Oh, Sleeper

Children Of Fire

The first impression of Oh, Sleeper’s third album, Children Of Fire, is that the Texas metalcore band have really been digging Long Live by the Chariot, especially in the vocal style. Vocalist Micah Kinard does his best Josh Scogin impression on a number of these 12 songs, right down to the weirdo preacher character Scogin likes to slip into (see the climax “The Marriage Of Steel And Skin” and the pre-breakdown spew of “Claws Of A God,” which then morphs into an epic sing-along). Luckily, Oh, Sleeper and their two vocalists (guitarist Shane Blay handles the good-cop here) are more multifaceted than that; evoking not only the chaos of the Chariot, but also the technicality of Between The Buried And Me (of which Blay is a former member), the power and passion of Norma Jean, and even the post-hardcore melodicism of Thrice. As a complete package, it’s pretty interesting, albeit a tad unoriginal. Oh, Sleeper come off sounding like bits and pieces of some really amazing bands, but the parts don’t totally make up a cohesive or original whole. Still, it’s way better than most of the bands playing this style of overwrought metalcore. Give ‘em one more album to truly emerge with their own identity.

Solid State http://www.solidstaterecords.com

“Shed Your Soul”