Release
date: November 2nd 2015. Label: -Doomentia/Elektroplasma/Equinox
Discos.. Format: CD/DD/Tape/Vinyl
To
Below And Beyond – Tracklisting
1.Donum
Dei 02:20
2.Wicked
Queen 07:43
3.I
Am Athanor 07:54
4.Mysterion
07:03
5.Flesh
To Gold 09:22
6.Sermon
Through Fire 04:53
7.Healing
Hands Of Time 07:14
8.To
Below And Beyond (Ars Diaboli) 08:44
Band
Members:
A.th
- Vocals/Guitars/Bass
Bon
R. - Guitars
Chris
Z - Drums
The
Uninvited Guest (Live Guitar)
Review:
Black
Oath are a doom metal band from Milan who specialise in dark and
occult tracks that feature swirling riffs and solos and their new
album To Below And Beyond is no exception.
After
Donum Dei, a sinister intro that combines the use of guitar, piano
and spoken word passages into an atmospheric soundscape that wouldn't
be out of place in a classic horror movie, To Below And Beyond begins
with Wicked Queen, a song that starts innocently enough with a
melodic guitar before a huge riff kicks in and some powerfully
melodic vocals enhance the sound as the riff drives the song forward,
the music changes pace halfway through and gives way to a more doomy
and slow paced Celtic Frost-esque vibe for the rest of the track and
is a great way to start things off.
The
album continues in this vein, melodic classic metal mixed with epic
doom with an occult feel to the whole thing, and with vocalist A.th,
this crystal clear vocal style taking centre stage this certainly
adds mystique to the whole thing.
The
highlight of To Below And Beyond has to be Mysterion, a song where
the dirge of the bass creeps right through the song and becomes
utterly inescapable to the point of consuming the song, the only
respite is the vocals that act as a barrier from the bass led
nastiness but ends with a beautiful melodic passage that cleanses
your ears after what has gone on before.
The
mournful Flesh To Gold is another highlight, a song full of sorrow
that is reminiscent of The Angel And The Dark River era My Dying
Bride and the track sounds like a cross between a funeral march,
classic metal and more trad doom styles and the likes of the
instrumental Sermon Through Fire (with its eerie vibe and dizzyingly
vicious riffs throughout), the epic Healing Hands Of Time and the
storming Wicked Queen ensure that any doom metal fiends will get
their fix of what they desire with ease here.
The
musicianship on To Below And Beyond is fantastic with every riff,
solo and rhythm nailed to perfection ( the guitar solo on I Am
Athanor in particular deserves particular attention) and the members
of Black Oath certainly know their stuff when it comes to doom metal,
the riffs are epic, the solos tight and precise while the rhythm
section of the band hold things down with their pounding dirge and
give the album a touch of doom laden class.
Black
Oath have made an album that is rich in both doom metal and both of
these styles collide in triumphant style.
Words
by Gavin
Brown
-
CD version released in 2015 by Doomentia.
-
D-LP version to be released in 2015 by Elektroplasma.
-
TAPE version to be released in 2015 by Equinox Discos.
