Album Review: The Oath – The Oath

12inch_gatefold_v92012.inddThe Oath – The Oath
Release Date: April 15, 2014

The Oath is an occult metal band formed by the core unity of Swedish guitarist Linnea Olsson and German vocalist Johanna Sadonis and they are a band that I have been hearing things about in the underground scene for a month or so.  When I ventured over to their Bandcamp page to listen to their single Night Child/Black Rainbow, I was floored right away.  It was everything I love about this kind of music: great rifftastic playing, warm analog, production and dreamy/nightmarishly haunting songs.  The only problem was that I wanted more.  Well, my wish came true with the band’s full length self-titled Rise Above Records debut.

The Oath’s debut album song for song is reminds me what I love about this kind of music.  It was a dark, compelling, thought provoking, trippy, psychedelic journey that covers a lot of ground stylistically.  The album opens with the stellar “All Must Die” which has almost a Danzig kind of feel to it and the album just takes off from there.  The re-worked version of “Night Child” which appeared on the bands 7” captures a vibe that was somewhat missed on the initial release and very much could have been a song right off the grooves of Black Sabbath’s Master of Reality album.  Just when I thought I had kind of figured out The Oath along comes “Black Rainbow” boasting a more punkish, Motorhead like vibe to it.  Then all of the sudden you’re ready for some more face melt and then you’re hit with the sinister, hauntingly gorgeous acoustic instrumental “In Dream.”  This really threw me a curve ball and I loved that.  There’s nothing cooler than a band making you think you’ve got them figured out and then all of the sudden hitting you with something a bit different.

The Oath has all the elements that make for a truly great listening experience.  The warm production, great guitar playing, a rhythm section featuring none other than former Angel Witch drummer Andrew Prestidge but it’s the smoky, sultry voice of vocalist Johanna Sadonis that truly sets the tone for this band and album.  Her voice is so unique and the fact that you can hear and understand every word she’s saying lets you know that she really wants you to take in these songs lyrically as well as musically.  This is a trend that I would love to see more from other bands because if it’s a truly well written song, they deserve to be heard and understood.

The Oath is a really spectacular band that is not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves.  They do so but without being hack ripoffs.  It’s easy to hear what bands lie at the core of The Oath’s sound but they have managed to take Danzig, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and even Iron Maiden and put them all into a blender to make one sweet ass face melting goulash of awesomeness.  The Oath quickly joined the ranks along with some of my other top tier bands and if this debut is any indication of what they’re capable of, I feel pretty good believing that we’ve only skimmed the surface with this amazingly talented band.

For more on The Oath, check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/THEOATHOFFICIAL

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