Texas-based New Southern Gothic outfit OCEANS OF SLUMBER transmogrify on incredible new album, Starlight and Ash. The chrysalis stage that lasted from “Winter” (2016) to wildly applauded “Oceans Of Slumber” (2020) is now over. Equipped with a profoundly deep musical background, a staunch reverence for the American South, and starry-eyed artistic curiosity, OCEANS OF SLUMBER have created a sonic expression like no other. They’ve become singular, the first entry (and likely not the last) into a style that can only be called New Southern Gothic. Fronted by the inimitable power, range, and grace of vocalist Cammie Gilbert, “Starlight and Ash” posits OCEANS OF SLUMBER in a league of their own. This is as much eloquent extensions of famed singer-songwriters Nick Cave and Chris Stapleton as it is the heartbreaking pulse of Type O Negative and Katatonia. “Starlight and Ash” isn’t Metal, but its edges are.

The hiatus from regular band activity saw HUNTSMEN return to their roots as a band, writing on an acoustic guitar and leaning into the narrative storytelling found on their debut full length, American Scrap. An invitation from Roadburn festival in the Netherlands to perform American Scrap in full at the 2022 edition of the festival gave them cause to revisit the songs that saw the band strike out with an Americana-metal sound that has been woven throughout their body of work. 
 A collaborative approach to the songwriting has lent itself well to blending the strengths of the individual band members, as well as allowing space for threads of their own personal stories to to make their way into the sonic tapestry of new tracks, The Dying Pines and Let The Buried Lie Forgotten. The rich instrumental layering and warm vocal harmonies are a vessel for conveying bleak themes of loss and existentialist contemplation. Once again, the evocative cover artwork has been created by drummer, Ray Knipe, complementing the organic sound of the EP, which was recorded at Electrical Audio/Hypercube studios by Sanford Parker, and mastered by Collin Jordan (The Boiler Room). 
 Elements of the post-apocalyptic vibe of Mandala of Fear find their way into this new EP, but The Dying Pines sits outside of the story arc present on the band’s full lengths - a vignette that lets us know the heart of this band still beats strong, and offers a hint of what’s still to come.

“Withering Soul has left me somewhat spellbound by their brand of Black Metal.”  -Metal Odessey “Each track here is a refreshing return to when Metal was stylish and still sounded evil, menacing and punishing.”  -Apoch's Metal Review “ A stunning achievement in the field of USBM and is sure to create a well deserved buzz for the band."  - Heavy Metal Time Machine 

a serene beauty roaring with powerPost/Stoner rock/sludge/doom Guitar/Vocals - Morion Bass - Mel Drums/Everything else - Nolan