| Oh, Sleeper | |
|---|---|
Oh, Sleeper performing live in Jacksonville, Florida. May 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Genres | Metalcore |
| Years active | 2006-Present |
| Labels | Solid State |
| Associated acts | As Cities Burn, Between the Buried and Me, Terminal, Anullaby, At Night We Strike, Killtrox and the Motherships |
| Website | www.weareohsleeper.com |
| Members | |
| Micah Kinard Shane Blay James Erwin Zac Mayfield Nate Grady |
|
| Past members | |
| Ryan Conley Matt Davis Lucas Starr |
|
Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas and is signed to Solid State Records. They have recorded three full-length albums to date, the most recent being their third album Children of Fire, released on September 6, 2011.
Contents |
Oh, Sleeper was founded in April 2006 after former member, Ryan Conley, of the short-lived rock band Terminal got together with former Evelynn and Between the Buried and Me guitarist Shane Blay and former Terminal bassist Lucas Starr (who was at the time with As Cities Burn). Eventually they found a vocalist in Micah Kinard and began practicing. The four members experienced typical problems of a band start-up (no place to practice, no money and different schedules), but the biggest obstacle was finding the final member. Countless awkward auditions failed to fill the missing position, until long time friend and fellow Terminal member James Erwin was found. After his addition to the lineup, the band released an EP, titled The Armored March, through 1x1 music.
The band signed with Solid State Records in the summer of 2007. Their debut album, When I Am God, was released on October 23, 2007. On December 28, 2007, Oh, Sleeper performed at the Plano Centre in Plano, Texas along with the briefly reunited Terminal. Oh, Sleeper also supported Demon Hunter on their tour, along with Living Sacrifice, Advent, and The Famine. The tour in support of Norma Jean was drummer Ryan Conley's last with the band.
Oh, Sleeper announced in early 2009 that they would release a new album entitled Son of the Morning, which was released on August 25. In an interview, Kinard stated that with this album, they wanted to combine crowd favorites such as "Vices Like Vipers" and "Charlatans Host" from the previous album in order to make Son of the Morning stay true to their sound and please the fans. The lyrics on this album are much more straightforward than on their debut wherein Son of the Morning is a concept album based on the final battle between the Devil and God.[1] The first single from the record was the title track, "Son of the Morning" and later in the year, Oh, Sleeper played the entire album for the first time in Waco Texas at Art Ambush.
The cover of Son of the Morning is known as a "broken pentagram". The symbol was designed by Ryan Clark of Demon Hunter and it follows the same pattern as a pentagram with the horns missing.[2] The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #120 and also charted at #46 on the Rock Albums chart, at #7 on the Christian Albums chart and at #12 on the Hard Rock Albums chart.[3]
In a Solid State (Oh, Sleeper's record label) podcast, it was announced that the band would be releasing a new album in 2011. This new album will be called "Children of Fire," as announced on stage by the band at Micah's birthday show in Dallas, Texas on Friday, April 15, 2011. On August 2nd, Oh, Sleeper released "Endseekers", their first single from the album. The song "Hush Yael" was uploaded to their Facebook page on the August 23, 2011. Children of Fire was released digitally on September 6, 2011. The album was released physically in stores on September 27.[4]
James Erwin explains in an interview that the new album takes place after "Son of the Morning" and follows the life of a Priest and his atheist daughter. The album is a spin on the rapture and explores how people would react in end times. At the beginning of the record, the Priest takes the role of judge now that he thinks God is dead and follows the daughter's path of finding God throughout the record.[5]
In an interview, vocalist Micah Kinard stated that the band's name was derived from the Epistle to the Ephesians on passage 5:14; which reads: "Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.'" (English Standard Version)
| Year | Title | Label | Chart peaks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Heat | US Rock | US Hard Rock | ||||
| 2007 | When I Am God | Solid State | - | 19 | - | - | |
| 2009 | Son of the Morning | 120 | 7 | 46 | 12 | ||
| 2011 | Children of Fire | 142 | – | 32 | 1 | ||