Metal act is more than loud
By Casey Gillis on Jan. 24, 2008
By Nanci Dodson
Monday night, heads were banging as Texas metal band Oh, Sleeper performed at Living Word.
Formed in 2006 and named after a portion of Ephesians 5:14, Oh, Sleeper consists of long-time friends James Erwin, Lucas Starr, Ryan Conley, and Shane Blay. After finding singer Micah Kinard, the lineup was complete, and the guys put together “The Armored March,” a five-song EP to introduce the band into the music realm.
The group signed with Solid State Records in the summer of 2007 and hustled into the studio to complete their first full-length album. Re-recording the entire EP and adding six tracks, Oh, Sleeper laid down every song in their catalog to create their debut record “When I Am God,” a title which may seem confusing since the band’s made up of Christians.
The title is clarified in the song “Vices Like Vipers” when Kinard screams, “When I am God, this church is unsound.” The vocalist is addressing Christians, who tend to ignore the higher authority and instead choose to live for themselves.
Despite their devout faith, Oh, Sleeper isn’t shoving religion down listeners’ throats.
“I hope our lyrics can be instilled in people’s lives spiritually - if that’s how they interpret them. Or not. It doesn’t really have to be on that level,” guitarist James Erwin says. “The record deals with our struggles as regular dudes, and I just hope that people can be positively affected in some way.”
Erwin also hopes the band will end up being something more than just an ordinary metal act, noted for being “brutal” or “hard.”
“At that point, it would be like, ‘Well, I guess it was a good ride, but it was kind of pointless,’” he says.
The music is certainly metal, but it’s metal with a twist. Hints of inspiration from bands such as Dredg, Nine Inch Nails, and Deftones are displayed in the songs, offering something other than high-powered chord progressions and throat-wrenching screams.
Oh, Sleeper will be touring throughout the year, and the band hopes to return to the studio as soon as possible to deliver their sophomore effort. And, as a side note, the guys enjoyed the Lynchburg crowd and plan to return.
More metal will be available Friday, Jan. 25, at Living Word when Blessed is He, I Am the Messenger and the 3 a.m. Break-up Plan perform. The cost is $5, and doors open at 6:30 p.m. (Living Word is located at 4130 Waterlick Road.)
Ambient, instrumental outfit The Late Virginia Summers will be at the Starlight Café Saturday night to play a free show with bluegrass acts Mild Winter and the Wright 3.
The show starts at 7 p.m. (The Starlight’s located at 512 Fifth St., Downtown Lynchburg)
Dodson is a local journalism student.
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