Oh Sleeper When I Am God

Tracklist:
1. Vices Like Vipers
2. I Will Become the Reaping
3. We Are the Archers
4. Charlatan's Host
5. The Siren's Songs
6. The Color Theft
7. To Flagship
8. His Name Was Bishop
9. Building the Nations
10. Revelations in the Calm
11. The End of a Dark Campaign

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Easily my most cherished album of 2007, Oh, Sleeper’s When I Am God is a feat of metalcore transcendence. In 2006, the Christian metalcore outfit Underoath released their 5th (or 3rd, depending on where you picked them up) album entitled Define The Great Line. It was and continues to be a masterpiece. High production values (though not over-produced) along with tight guitars and Spencer Chamberlain’s suited ability to roar were just a few of the elements used to compose a definably standout record. Oh, Sleeper’s When I Am God is the Define The Great Line of 2007 and the band manages to literally pick up where Underoath left off, taking When I Am God to what should be a new standard of accessible, hard music.

Unlike their Christian metalcore brothers, Oh, Sleeper put a heavy emphasis on guitars that sound as slick as glass. This creates a paradigm – the vocals of Micah Kinard burgeon with an incendiary fire while backed with guitars that chug, squeal, and riff to heights that, I guarantee, will have you excited. An aspect that I especially love about this record is the lack of too many back up vocals. Sure, back ups are the perfect way to create harmony, but when Micah Kinard hollers “Lift the torches/Light the fields!” (The Siren Song) the listener will be crippled at how clearly the man can annunciate at such a sonically high decibel. Micah takes full advantage of his chords throughout each song.

The Color Theft, the 6th track on the record, is one of the most interesting. A woman sings beautifully and opens up for Micah who lightly sings “I walk alone, head down, in a pale grey scene/Every step leads to atrophy.” The first ¾ of the song continue with his slow singing supported by an acoustic guitar and some interesting synth (or an instrument that I’ve never heard). The last portion of the song escalades as Micah begins to yell, before declining back to the original tone. The song creates a duality of anger and apathy. Two songs away, To Flagship returns to the chaotic yet discernable guitars coupled with Micah’s shouts. The guitarists Shane Blay and James Erwin show what they’re made of on this track. The riffs are constantly changed up, inclining from a deep chug to a fast-paced strum. One very noticeable and welcome asset Oh, Sleeper uses is its bassist. In every song you will be able to clearly hear the bassist backing up the guitars and providing the perfect undertone.

There are so many aspects of the metalcore scene that I am sick of. Being my favorite genre of music, and the genre I most frequent, I feel that Oh, Sleeper is a band that I welcome with arms as wide as I can stretch. When I listen to the likes of The Chariot or even Norma Jean (not Bless The Martyr, but Redeemer) I feel annoyed that they think chug chug chug is passable as a song. Both of those bands, in my opinion, could take a few pointers from Oh, Sleeper. The last song on the record is so hardcore, so palpably ridiculous in the heights it achieves. If you do anything today, listen to “The End of a Dark Campaign”. It is the perfect closing to an album that swims with some very big fish.

I’ve sat here for a good while trying to find what I think the band could improve upon and the only real issue is the repetitive nature of this record. If you don’t listen closely enough, it can become background music. The ability of a band to soar high and stoop low is more expected than seen as just an okay route to take. Oh, Sleeper manages to creep just over that road but if you are one who frequents the metalcore genre as much as I, it’s very possible that this band won’t impress you any more then another “good” band. I really hope that you can find the time to sit down and absorb this album. I trust that you will able to appreciate the twists and turns that, I believe, set Oh, Sleeper apart, and maybe even above, from the others.

For a breakout album, When I Am God is sickeningly good and I gladly give this a 4.