OATHBREAKER — Rheia (review)

Album · 2016 · Atmospheric Black Metal

4.5/5 · 2016-10-15
adg211288

Having now been around since 2008 and playing hardcore/crust punk, Belgian band Oathbreaker seem to have decided that it must be time to shake things up with their third full-length offering Rheia (2016), on which they have produced a record that seems to have little to do with their previous genre, and brings them more fully into metal territory that has flavoured their past releases.

Specifically Rheia finds Oathbreaker playing a sound somewhere between blackgaze and atmospheric sludge metal (post-metal), with a strong influence of post-rock. They start the album off with the short 10:56 which will gently lull the listener into a false sense of security with its soft tone and soothing vocals by frontwoman Caro Tanghe, and then wham! Second Son of R. kicks in and suddenly the record sounds absolutely ferocious, with blazing guitars and blackened shrieks replacing the clean vocals. The band don't shirk away from softer material throughout, notably with the closing track Begeerte, but they're usually pretty damn heavy.

I haven't personally heard Oathbreaker's previous work as hardcore/crust punk isn't a style that typical holds much interest for me (anything I've said about their past work in this review is based on research), but Rheia sure proves that they know how to make a black metal album. Their music can be quite violent for something which falls into the atmospheric black metal spectrum which may be due to some residual influence from their hardcore punk roots, but all the aggressive parts are well balanced by the softer post-rock influenced parts, which can take on quite an ethereal quality. One thing that instantly struck me about the record is that in some ways it reminded me of this year's Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas collaboration Mariner (2016). If that album had been a black metal album, it would probably sound something like Rheia.

Caro Tanghe continually switches between clean singing and growls on the album. The growls are fierce and powerful while the clean singing is what most puts me in mind of the earlier comparison to Mariner, as her style is quite similar to Julie Christmas'. Likewise the music also keeps switching between heavy and light styles but not always in sync with the vocals as Caro Tanghe sometimes sings cleanly over heavy parts. The song-writing on the album feels fairly consistent though I do have to say that I’m Sorry, This Is has to be considered something a downer as it feels like an interlude piece due to featuring minimal music topped by whispers and the sound of children playing, but at over four minutes just goes on for too long, and thus disrupts the otherwise good flow of the album. Rheia isn't the kind of record that offers up much by way of surprise once it's underway, but apart from that one blip it remains strong throughout, with particular standouts being Second Son of R., Being Able to Feel Nothing, Needles in Your Skin and Where I Leave.

Rheia is overall an interesting and decent record from Oathbreaker. I can't say for certain how well it will be received by fan's of the band's previous hardcore/crust punk albums, but as a black metal fan I dig it. Sludge metal fans are also recommended to check it out.