Oh, Sleeper - When I Am God

[Handraa]

Oh, Sleeper - When I Am God
Record Label: Solid State Records
Release Date: October 23, 2007

Oh, Sleeper is a Christian Metalcore act from Ft Worth, Texas and are abundant with talent. Although the metalcore genre seems dead, this band doesn't disappoint.

Micah Kinard leads Oh, Sleeper with his outstanding vocals. He has a wide vocal range and sometimes just seems like he's talking, which is something that is not common in the metalcore genre. The lyrics seem to have a common theme of war and makes the album even more enjoyable, if you're into the whole war thing, although as I listened to When I Am God, I began wondering where the "Christian" aspect was in there lyrics. Lines such as: "When I am God, this church is unsound" made me wonder, although in other lines its quiet evident that lyrics do reflect there faith: "Destroy! Rebuild! Plant the seeds to reclaim victory!"

The guitarists tear you apart with there insane riffs that follow the metalcore formula, but are still good. A perfect example of this is the track "His Name Was Bishop." They also have an outstanding drummer that sounds good in every track on the album. Although every song may sound the same, they still sound better than a lot of bands in the genre. Oh, Sleeper even switches things up with the track "The Siren's Song," in which the instrumentation is quiet and soothing while Shane Blay (one of the guitarists) lays down smooth and soft vocals. In "The Color Theft," Blay lays down even smoother vocals which are accompanied by an outstanding drummer and acoustic guitars and slowly transition back into there metalcore sound.

It seems as if the tracks "We Are The Archers" and "To Flagship" sums up the whole album. So if you like those two songs, chances are you'll love this album. After hearing When I Am God it gives me hope that there sophomore release will be as good or better than this solid debut album.

At the Throne of Judgment with a better vocalist; August Burns Red's Thrill Seeker; old Norma Jean
myspace.com/ohsleeper (http://www.myspace.com/ohsleeper)

[Ryne]

Their*

[cereal4life]

You probably shouldn't use the word "abundant" two times so closely together. I do enjoy this album though! Abundantly.

[more heart]

this record was kinda blah to me. it had few good songs but overall i had hopes for this and it was dissapointing.

[Handraa]

You probably shouldn't use the word "abundant" two times so closely together. I do enjoy this album though! Abundantly.
Oh my bad. Your right.

[Handraa]

Their*
I'm not so good at these.

[Brett3]

Very good album. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Daniel Thompson]

i loved this album.

[chiodosluvr]

i have the album, and oh my..
Oh, Sleeper are just amazinggg!
there was no dissapointment here for me(:

[TotalCollapse]

One of my favorite metalcore bands.

[Facemelter42]

the lyrics "When I am God, this church is unsound" fit perfectly along with the rest of the song and the album. It means when he tries to play the role of God and do whatever he wants to, his life (which is what "this church" represents) falls apart. Awesome band and incredible album. i would have rated the lyrics higher because they do a phenomenal job of conveying thier message through the war metaphor.

[oncedarkness]

such a great album. i dont think that all the songs sounded the same in the least because the inclusion of the Color Theft and Revelations in the Calm. those songs gave the listener a rest from the constant intensity of the rest of the album.

[Klatzke]

the lyrics "When I am God, this church is unsound" fit perfectly along with the rest of the song and the album. It means when he tries to play the role of God and do whatever he wants to, his life (which is what "this church" represents) falls apart. Awesome band and incredible album. i would have rated the lyrics higher because they do a phenomenal job of conveying thier message through the war metaphor.
8/10 is purty good.

Good review Jared.

[shimmyshakes]

I don't listen to much in this genre, but I absolutely love Oh, Sleeper. They're very talented.

[xsinkshipsx]

great band, short review, could have been longer

[Klatzke]

great band, short review, could have been longer
.. Any review "could be longer"

[ninetyFhOURs]

"When I am God / This church is unsound"
These lyrics are probably the most straight forward, religiously, in comparison to rest of the album.

"This, my lust, the pornos and the sluts
Take my lust, this world's love" - "Vices Like Vipers" by Oh, Sleeper
The amount of honesty that these words convey won me over to Oh, Sleeper automatically. You don't find this kind of honesty in the religious ring of rock. The fact that the lead singer can unveil his own demons actually gave me the confidence to fight off my own. Often times, as a fan of music, you can put musicians up on a pedestal, to demi-god status. These words bring Micah down to earth, maybe more so than any lyricist that I know of.

I had the privilege to meet Micah when he came through Dover, Ohio with War of Ages, Akissforjersey, and Agraceful (all of which put on great shows, by the way). Oh, Sleeper's lead singer and I had a heart-to-heart about these very lyrics. My face-to-face conversation with a lyrical icon of mine had always been a dream of mine, and that happened at this particular show. He spoke of writing the "porno" lyrics because he knew that he wasn't the only person with such a problem, and that no one should ever feel alienated if they battled similar, or any, demons. Micah, in short, is still one the most accepting and loving people I have ever met. He made the point to tell me that he does not, or cannot, consider his band "christian": HIS lyrics are, but those aren't the motivations of some of the instrumentalists in Oh, Sleeper. He showed every consideration for his band members, as well as fans that merely wanted to talk, such as me. Micah was the epitome of a good person, christian, and man, and will be a role model of mine for as long as I live. Getting on stage and singing the final words to the closer "Vices Like Vipers" into the mic only added to the night!

[Handraa]

"When I am God / This church is unsound"
These lyrics are probably the most straight forward, religiously, in comparison to rest of the album.

"This, my lust, the pornos and the sluts
Take my lust, this world's love" - "Vices Like Vipers" by Oh, Sleeper
The amount of honesty that these words convey won me over to Oh, Sleeper automatically. You don't find this kind of honesty in the religious ring of rock. The fact that the lead singer can unveil his own demons actually gave me the confidence to fight off my own. Often times, as a fan of music, you can put musicians up on a pedestal, to demi-god status. These words bring Micah down to earth, maybe more so than any lyricist that I know of.

I had the privilege to meet Micah when he came through Dover, Ohio with War of Ages, Akissforjersey, and Agraceful (all of which put on great shows, by the way). Oh, Sleeper's lead singer and I had a heart-to-heart about these very lyrics. My face-to-face conversation with a lyrical icon of mine had always been a dream of mine, and that happened at this particular show. He spoke of writing the "porno" lyrics because he knew that he wasn't the only person with such a problem, and that no one should ever feel alienated if they battled similar, or any, demons. Micah, in short, is still one the most accepting and loving people I have ever met. He made the point to tell me that he does not, or cannot, consider his band "christian": HIS lyrics are, but those aren't the motivations of some of the instrumentalists in Oh, Sleeper. He showed every consideration for his band members, as well as fans that merely wanted to talk, such as me. Micah was the epitome of a good person, christian, and man, and will be a role model of mine for as long as I live. Getting on stage and singing the final words to the closer "Vices Like Vipers" into the mic only added to the night!
Alright, I'm starting to see it now. Thanks for that.

[oncedarkness]

Micah seems like a sweet guy

[Joey (J-Train)]

i absolutely love Oh, Sleeper, one of my favorites on the now going downhill roster of Solid State. This album is great for the instruments, lyrics, and their creativity is just fantastic. the vocals are a bit of a problem for after a while you just wish Micah's voice was a little bit better but nonetheless good work for a rookie vocalist.