“It means one moment you could be hearing Candlemass-like riffing against Morbid Angel-esque drumming, all the while The Gathering-esque vocals fly above in the clouds – and the next song Evergrey could careen headlong into Anathema or Opeth against a Rush-like guitar motion...”
9.5/10 from Deadrhetoric.com


"...Oceans of Slumber have produced another masterpiece with The Banished Heart. It is everything I expected and more.”
SkullsnBones.com

“So perhaps the main thing to take away from this review (apart from the fact that Cammie Gilbert is still possessed of one of the most divinely gorgeous and heartbreaking voices I’ve ever heard) is that, in my opinion at least, as good as this album is (and it really is) Oceans of Slumber still haven’t fully realised their true potential yet.
And that, quite frankly, is an astonishing thing to contemplate when you really think about it.”
NoCleanSinging.com

“Great for listening to on a dark and snowy day.”
8/10 Avenoctum

“The Banished Heart is a denser, heavier, and more emotionally draining, and rewarding, offering than the band’s previous albums and is well worth the considerable investment involved in spinning it.”
Bravewords.com

“The result is an album that deserves to propel the band to heavy music’s highest echelons: a work of art that tells us all we need to know about this band’s unique magic and immense power. Only those with a beating but bruised human heart need apply.”
Rebelradio.com

“It’s soulful, it’s honest, and it’s spellbinding in both its technical prowess and the emotion it exudes. A troubled heart really does create the best art.”
Ghostcultmag.com

“Born of personal loss and anguish, The Banished Heart is an achingly honest masterpiece fraught with both upheaval and hope that connects both band and listener to a primal sense. Yet crucially, it’s individualism and boundary-altering bravery is progressive in the truest sense of the word and ultimately impossible to resist.”
Metal Hammer

“Where everything seemed smooth and almost streamlined on “Winter” in retrospect, from the songwriting to the production, this one is as dirty and as honest as it gets. “The Banished Heart” is raw, unadulterated emotions, presented in a unique melodic extreme metal package like only Oceans of Slumber can.”
The Progspace 5/5

“The Banished Heart is a fantastic example of darkly gothic, melancholic metal with progressive tendencies, and the band choosing to downplay some of the musical elements from past releases isn’t a detriment to their sound at all. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Oceans of Slumber have produced their best work yet, a somber but often strangely uplifting journey through personal strife and loss that deserves to propel the band to even greater heights.”
heavyblogisheavy.com

“The performances here are stunning, to be blunt. Cammie’s voice is one of the best in progressive metal right now. Her vocal style is jazzy, yes, but there is more to it than that. She can nail a solid hook like no one’s business, and she can play the texture and power game, too.”
TheProgMind.com

“I had hoped that Oceans of Slumber might improve upon ‘Winter’, but the reality is that they have produced something better in just about every aspect. Fuelled by dark and raw emotion it may have been, but in ‘The Banished Heart’, these negative emotions have given birth to something hugely positive, uniquely challenging, and incredibly beautiful.”
9.5/10 Matt Spall - manofmuchmetal.com

"This encapsulates beauty in darkness with a sense of true sublimity and transcendence. An incredibly bleak and dissonant sublimity at times, but also punctuated with glimpses of hope and optimism that shine through the mire of despair."
metal-discovery.com

“The album is darker, more introspective and more versatile. It's a "hard" album that may appeal to less people. The richness, the honesty and the depth of TBH will lead to a deeper and more honest bond with the fans who will love it. This is a more mature, diverse and complete album compared to Winter. Once again Wayfaring Stranger is a perfect cover.
The album is so diverse, that even the term "progressive" sounds too restictive.”
90/100 from RockOverdose.gr

“The Banished Heart is the culmination of a perfect storm of musical dexterity, personal tragedy and resilience in the face of adversity, it’s a record with a fervour that it finds hard to contain and it’s simply brilliant and as Wayfaring Stranger closes the album it almost leaves you on cliff hanger for album number 3. You probably won’t hear another record like this in 2018.”
Musipedia of Metal 10/10

“There are so many points of interest in almost every song that I’d need to write something three times as long as I’ve already done.”
“I think the best thing is that I suggest, quite strongly, that if you have any interest in doom, death or progressive metal, you really should give it a try.”
Moshville.co.uk

“This album is a transcending journey through a blackened night that threatens no coming of the dawn....
.....Yet, hope remains, even if it is so frail that speaking its name would make it vanish in front of you forever. It is both a rare and startling experience to be able to get such a deep and expansive glimpse into the personal world of the band. “The Banished Heart” is marvelous.”
10/10 Metal-Temple.com

“The atmosphere is dense, Cammie is a one in a million vocalist, and the songwriting is heart-wrenching and beautiful. While this group has plenty of style, on The Banished Heart they chose substance instead.”
“Have the depths of Texas birthed a monster in Oceans of Slumber? That remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: this year just got a lot darker and it feels great. I love this band. I love this album. May it blot out the sun for the rest of you as well.”
ItDjents.com

“First approaching the songs with a dooming depression, before moving into a manic rage, then to a strange surrender, before finding resolution and a sense of hope near the end.”
MetalIreland.com

"The Banished Heart" est un album sublime, forcément sublime...”
5/5 rating Musicwaves/France

“An album that commands your attention and compels you to listen, ‘The Banished Heart’ sees Oceans of Slumber producing what might already prove to be one the best Progressive Metal albums of 2018.”
MetalWani.com

“They're unafraid to stay indulgent and their boldness is impressive. It's just not something you hear much of anymore, and I didn't know modern metal could be this heartfelt.”
9/10 metalinjection.com