Review Summary: The tragedy of the fall is ushered in by the true keepers of the anti-prophecy.
Oathbreaker is a bleak journey through the saga of the rise and fall of a should-be hero corrupted into the right hand of darkness and destruction. With immensely powerful instrumentation that rips from the fast, vast, and heavy darkness that surrounds the prophecy and the so-called messiah's dark deeds to the folksy acoustic passages and echoing, etheral concert hall pianos, orchestral arrangements, and latin chants, Hoth create a cinematic experience that pulls you down along the spiral into madness our protagonist is born into.
While we all know the name of the character this album was designed for, the lyrics Hoth have crafted for
Oathbreaker remain both beautifully timeless and intensely grizzly with anger, hatred, fear, and power. The story of the anti-hero wasn't invented in the '90s (or even the '70s), and the lyrical content here strikes a good balance in distancing itself from its source material and remaining relevant enough to paint the same twisted fall all while drawing up images of countless other legends of a messianic hope for salvation turned to blight upon the face and soul of humanity.
But let it be known, this is no children's tale. Embarking on a harrowing journey from the first step,
Oathbreaker plays on dense yet fast black metal guitar rhythms with plenty of crunch and blistering drums to frame the cinematic tone of the album with fraying black curtains. The symphonic nature of
Oathbreaker's leads establish it as a theater affair, while its melodic guitar leads bring it back to the icy chill of the group's namesake planet and emphasize the power our fallen hero manifests.
All of these elements are tied together exceedingly well by seamless transitions from the more magical folk elements and eye-widening symphonic components to the power and bombast of the record's core blackened death metal infrastructure. With a production that emphasizes all aspects of this sound with proper clarity and balance without losing the fetid bite brought to the album's forefront by the duo's growls,
Oathbreaker is instantly satisfying and offers plenty of instrumental and lyrical depth for follow-up listens. But more than that,
Oathbreaker simply brings us a tale long known but never done justice. By dousing the gleaming special effects of Hollywood in rage and darkness, Hoth have brought a true and natural taint of evil to the tale of the black knight. But, more than that, they've finally forged that necessary visceral connection between legend and listener through the emotional power of their sound.
It is for their demonstration of fear, sorrow, anger, rage, and power that we bend the knee and accept the legend of the
Oathbreaker.
