Oathbreaker
Eros|Anteros

Release Date: 2013 | Tracklist

For the past few years Belgium has been slowly making it's mark in the world of underground extreme music with bands, more notably, such as Amenra with their heavy, dark, sludgy yet at times atmospheric music or Rise and Fall with their abrasive sound coming from the world of hardcore punk and metal established by bands such as Converge. With the band Oathbreaker they fall more in line with what Rise and Fall do but go about it in a different direction and that is especially the case with "Eros|Anteros". Now with an album like this or even a band like this for that matter the old and worn out saying must be said which is that this album is really not reinventing the wheel rather Oathbreaker are adding to it and creating their own spin on a genre that has been used and abused. "Eros|Anteros" shows a lot of the heavy hitting aspects that Oathbreaker are known for but it also shows a lot of progression in it's music making sure this album is not a one trick pony with hint's of influences coming from black metal and at some points sludge.

Tracks like and "No Rest For the Weary" or "Condor Tongue" keep the energy levels high and in your face with the heavy d-beat drums and frenzied guitars that at some points have a black metal-ish type feel to them and earsplitting screams coming from vocalist Caro Tanghe. As Intensity and rage play a big key factor to what this album is all about Oathbreaker make sure things stay interesting and engaging so as to not lose the listener to the overbearing nature of this album. "The Abyss Looks Into Me" is one of the more interesting and longer tracks on here as the bands explores the heavier and slower aspects of their sounds as all the instruments trudge at a slow and heavy pace for almost five minutes until it's just cleanly sung vocals and a melodic guitar passage then explodes back into a climatic ending. The song that probably separates itself from the other tracks on here is the closer "Clair Obscur" which has a very airy sort of vibe to it and some points is atmospheric with melodic distant guitars and clean vocals and as the song goes on for it's eleven or so minutes of music each member of the band adds their sounds to it until it gets into heavier territories.


What Oathbreaker brings to the table with "Eros|Anteros" really isn't going to surprise a lot of people as Oathbreaker prefer to maintain their sound in a play it by the book kind of way but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are rehashing ideas or copy catting other bands who have laid the ground work for this genre either. They try, and in a lot of ways, succeed in carving their own niche for themselves in a genre of extreme music that is becoming increasingly hard to do so by mixing the chaotic with heavy and progressive elements as well.

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3.9 excellent

Rank: #156 for 2013