OATHBREAKER — Rheia (review)

Album · 2016 · Atmospheric Black Metal

5/5 · 2016-12-17
666sharon666

The Belgian band Oathbreaker have up until now been known as a crust punk act but on their third album Rheia they've made a jump into black metal instead. At first though this isn't apparent as the record starts up. Vocalist Caro Tanghe starts singing unaccompanied. She sounds gentle and sweet. Gradually the band join her, playing equally soft and not at all indicative of the onslaught that is about to be unleashed. Two minutes eleven and it's just enough time to wonder if you've somehow got the wrong album on.

Then all hell breaks loose.

That shift between the short opener 10:56 and the first full metal song, Second Son of R. is a defining moment of Rheia, but it's only just the beginning of this black metal journey. Rheia seems to usually get described as a blackgaze album but I'm not sure I agree with that. I find most blackgaze to represent the extreme soft end of the black metal genre and while this album does have it's fair share of soft sections like 10:56 the full on metal sections feel far too intense to be accurately described as blackgaze. There is a sludge metal influence in here too so I'd personally call it post-black metal, of the most aggressive kind rather than the traditional atmospheric kind. I guess the blackgaze term may come from the amount of softer sections of music on the album, as even Second Son of R. turns softer before its conclusion, or the fact there's metal songs with mostly clean singing like Being Able to Feel Nothing, but then again Myrkur is like that and no one calls that blackgaze, so it's puzzling why this has been lumped into the same movement.

While the music itself doesn't ultimately show itself to be as out there and unusual as what some black metal acts have been delivering albums in the last few years, Rheia is delivered with such fire and conviction that I couldn't help but instantly be won over by the band. Caro Tanghe is the obvious star here, equally comfortable with the gentle clean singing and the frantic screaming. A brilliant record overall.

more than 2 years ago
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666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Glad you like it!

TheHeavyMetalCat wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I've listened to it twice this evening. I agree, an excellent album.

666sharon666 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Top 5, for me. Hail Spirit Noir is my number one for black metal, but this is a very close second.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I'm glad to see this one starting to get some attention around here. It's climbed up into my top 15 for this year now.

TheHeavyMetalCat wrote:

more than 2 years ago

You've (both of you) convinced me. I'm going to try this.

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Good review Nicole, I've been listening to this again myself this evening. One of those albums that's only got better since I wrote my review, so I may have to adjust my score.

Regarding the genre, blackgaze in my experience varies quite wildly. Just comparing two releases from this year, this is miles different to Sylvaine's Wistful. It does mostly fit the description RYM has for blackgaze though, except for the 'softer than usual black metal' bit, you're quite right about that part. It's on the borderline.