Los Osos is home to many wonderful musical minds and people who hope to succeed in the music scene. “Sonder Oblivion” is a prime example.

As of now, the band only consists of Los Osos Junior Drew Ambrus. With less than 1,000 monthly listeners, only four songs have been released. My personal favorite of the band’s discography is “The Ocean’s Prey”. 

Words cannot express the feeling I got when I heard it for the first time. The overall vibe and melody of this song earns it a place on my monthly favorites playlist.

“Sonder Oblivion”’s very first track, “Closing Opened Doors”, was released on December 28, 2023. While I’m not usually one for heavy metal, I fully enjoyed listening to these tracks. 

I adore the evident influences of bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Motionless in White, Sleep Token, and other metal bands. 

When asked about his biggest inspiration thus far, Ambrus said, “there were many people in the industry that I was fortunate enough to meet that made me want to enter the music industry, but my biggest mainstream influence was Code Orange.” 

Some other bands that have impacted Ambrus include Knocked Loose, Sleep Token, Loathe, and more. 

The story behind the band’s name is something I find very fascinating. “When I was writing the name of my band, I had originally already written and recorded a song when I thought about making a statement about how people deny the pain of others,” said Ambrus. 

Amrus also commented on how “‘sonder’ meaning the profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one’s own, which they are constantly living, despite one’s personal lack of awareness of it and ‘oblivion’ recognizing [that] lack of comprehension.” 

While I was confused about the band’s name at first, after learning the meaning, I absolutely love it. 

Furthering Ambrus’s intended message, “I am trying to portray… the recognition of other people’s individual difficulties and the effects that each individual has on the people they interact with.” I adore the message, as this issue is overlooked every single day.

Ambrus plans on releasing a full-length album within the next few months, which I’m very excited about. “(It) will include both heavy and alternative music with many in-depth meanings,” said he.

Even though he has a small platform, with only 244 followers on Instagram, Ambrus has big plans on how to grow his platform.

“Once I release my full length album,” he said, “I will be playing a series of live shows that will be advertised on the “Sonder Oblivion” Instagram that will most likely include both alternative and heavy bands and musicians.”  

On the note of live shows, Ambrus plans on inviting two new members for live shows and possibly on his second album. 

As with everything else, Ambrus has encountered some difficulties: “exposure solely using online presence is difficult to reinforce, which is why I plan to do multiple live shows once the full “Sonder Oblivion” album is released.”

However, it’s not all bad. “My favorite part of the band is hearing people listen to my music and appreciate the elements that I put large amounts of effort into,” Ambrus said. I’m sure many other musicians can agree with this.

I was very excited to learn that my favorite “Sonder Oblivion” song is also Ambrus’s favorite. “‘The Ocean’s Prey’ has both had the most meaning in the writing along with the greatest recognition among people who listen,” said Ambrus. 

“The riff for this song was a riff I had written two years ago that I never ended up using until now.”

Even though “Sonder Oblivion” is not very popular now, Ambrus hopes to be signed to “one of the metal labels within Warner Bros Records,” said Ambrus. “Though it is a very mainstream label, high expectations is what drives success.” 

I look forward to future projects and the upcoming success of “Sonder Oblivion” and I adored learning some of the backstory of Los Osos’s own metal band. Their music is available on all music platforms, and you can follow them on Instagram @sonderoblivion_official.