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Notwithstanding the title of the album itself – a sophomore release called 4... you figure it out – there’s nothing at all confusing about this effort from French upstarts The Oath. It’s ostensibly an even-keel pairing of black and death metal concepts, which in theory can provide the landing ground for anyone from Dissection to Naglfar to God Dethroned to even more far-flung references. To some extent, I hear all of the above here, not to mention the precision brutality of countrymen Gojira and the adventurousness of most of the Holy Records roster. Really, there’s a lot here to enjoy, which makes it all the more head-scratching as to why I’m not internalizing it after being summarily plastered to the wall. Maybe it’s that very pastiche quality that makes it so easy to describe, the notion that The Oath tips its collective hat to melodic death metal, symphonic black metal and all the rest without being mired in any one of them, that makes this seem just the wrong side of ephemeral. Maybe it’s the production and mix: pummeling, clinical and austere, but similarly antiseptic and without nuance. Maybe I’m just years past truly enjoying the benefits of such cross-genre pollination, because if I was sixteen or so and new to the underground, I’d be all over this like white on rice. As it stands, though, I maintain respectful but muted applause.
| Tracklist |
| 1. 4 (intro) |
| 2. This Day |
| 3. Orgasm |
| 4. A Question of Faith |
| 5. Unholy Blood |
| 6. The Unborn |
| 7. Lifeless Desire |
| 8. Dead Inside |
| 9. War |
| 10. Godless Existence |
: 45:04
| Buy other The Oath albums |
