Blood Oath present their first full-length album after a preparatory period that encompassed a demo and an EP. Like their previous output, “Lost in an Eternal Silence” is an exercise in the handling of a familiar kit of tools in order to craft visions and feelings generally corresponding to the template of classic death metal, with a renewed sense of energy and invention.
Although the inventory of riffs that the bands deploy, as well as the majority of techniques and tropes, will sound familiar to any fan, an interesting contrast is brought by the frequent interventions of the lead guitar which, like in the later works of Morbid Angel, provides a sometimes otherworldly element through unexpected melodies and nuances. The raw force of the riffs, often played over blast-beats or similarly fast rhythms is thus offset by the hand of the lead guitars, leading the music to strange corners with melodic contours or solos that, although initially strange thanks to their use of major key, amidst the climate of chromatic aggression, emerge from the main stream of the music like wild formations spurting from a river of lava; sometimes, as in the case of the solos, these flourishes overtake the song for an extended period of time but never in a bothersome or gratuitous way. Like in the best death metal, the function of these sections is to further build on the atmosphere and add more nuance to the music. Vocals drenched in reverb contributes with a sense of cavernous aggression that always suits this type of music, with the production allowing for clarity and granting the guitars an adequate sharpness through which one can glimpse the strange shapes they cast throughout the album.
Songs generally present relatively a varied structure, but manage to keep the pace and intensity throughout the entire album, with short bass sections being the only “pauses” the listener will be given to catch breath; the intrigue is likewise maintained through the interesting and restless motions underwent by the intricate riffing, leaving one in anticipation over the specific developments that a song will undergo before the conclusion. This is a trait that once again reminds us of Morbid Angel, specifically their first release “Altars of Madness”, where the album’s wild animating current seems to be bursting forth with maniac energy, ordering the songs to constant mutation and always ready to sprout into a delirious solo or a thrash-styled section with breakneck speed rhythm at any moment. As in the case of that foundational album, it’s mostly a matter of progressively attuning oneself to the songwriting method and the landscape it creates, with its pools of crusted lava and writhing flames, in order to be able to get carried away by this flow and the sights it offers.
Like their countrymen Mortify and Sepulcrum, Blood Oath manage to express some interesting ideas through a well-worn format that keeps being devalued through an increasing quota of subpar additions. Once in a while, a band like this will thankfully prove that it’s possible to do something worthwhile with the form.
