Review by Vinny for Oathbreaker - Rheia (2016)

This is not my first venture with Rheia. Whilst I do not recall managing to get through the whole album upon previous attempts, the completion of it this time around has not managed to alter my general sense of being underwhelmed, even by the experience in its entirety this time. Whilst there is more than one reason for this, ultimately, blackgaze is just not my thing. Post-metal, which is the other dominant style on this record, is normally accompanied by sludge whenever it is rotating through my listening patterns, and here where that more extreme blend is absent from the mixture, this album ends up just too clean for my tastes.

Back in 2011 on their debut album, Oathbreaker presented as a metalcore outfit. Listening to that record recently, the trilly tremolos and stabbing Wiegedood-esque melodies were present back then and it is good to hear that is retained through onto their third album. However, all the galloping fury of their earlier sound has been well and truly neutered on Rheia. Those previously scathing vocals from Caro Tangle are now replaced by a clean and ethereal offering, which if I am honest, soon gets old. Great though her voice is, the vocals lack variety and so when the same effects, structures and tempos are constantly in use my focus is soon suffering.

Rheia maybe one of the safest records I have ever heard. Considering the calibre of the artists involved (Wiegedood, for example), I was expecting a much darker offering, yet it is an album that lacks passion despite a level of artistry that is professional and tight. There is no clear expression going on across the album with a pervading sense of one dimension only being explored and overall, this a drab affair to my ears. I listened also recently to the band’s sophomore effort, Eros Anteros and there are hints of a move away from that metalcore sound prevalent there, yet the change on Rheia is just too much for me. Of course, it is perfectly within their rights as artists to change direction and sound, but Oathbreaker aren’t for me moving forwards.