8th May 2024

Review: “For Those Who Breathe From Darkness” by Oathswan

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue is what Athens Greece natives Oathswan promise with their debut EP “For Those Who Breathe From Darkness” as they offer something that falls somewhere between the realms of Metalcore, Post and Progressive Metal. Produced, mixed and mastered by Bob Katsionis (Firewind, Stray Gods, Graven Sin) the record is the product of there genes and experiences, the musicians who created it credited with prior endeavours in Mask of Prospero, Gentihaa and Aetherian…

Delicate haunting piano brings “Swansong” to life before the mirror is shattered by crushing DJent fuelled guitars and pounding percussive battery as Oathswan come out swinging for a first verse that hits like a left hook from a prize fighter. Bringing to mind August Burns Red and early Periphery, that intense heaviness fades for a mid section of aching dark beauty with keys and clean vocals before rearing its ugly head once more in orchestrated fashion as the two styles come together. While it’s not something you won’t have necessarily heard before, it’s done so well that it’s both enthralling and captivating and the same can be said of the powerhouse that is “Glass Heart“. The emotive quality of the almost Screamo vocal styled moments give it a real edge while the buried orchestrations add an epic feel. They don’t overpower in the mix but instead add nuance as the guitars slide into groove with the flow or “Alien” era Northlane with a similarly textured crushing tone chosen.

The programming on this one is equally as subtle and that helps keep things stylish as the band change gear with the big chugging riff flourishes of “Death Comes Home“. Surprisingly catchy and direct, this one wastes no time in swinging the wrecking ball while still having an interesting melodic bridge which seems to be one of the hallmarks of the bands sound. If the band allow their extremes to push out in future records then we may even get something akin of Cinematic Deathcore, the pained quality of the lyrical narrative striking a chord on this one. Taking something of a more dramatic and almost theatrical route to remain “The Lovers” remains raw in its emotive quality while having an epic yet bleak sing-a-long chorus at its beating black heart. Orchestration and a spoken word a charm and while it doesn’t go as big on the final breakdown as you might have hoped during the screams of “suffer!“, it’s far from an anti-climax. A tastefully done debut record that oozes class, there is no doubt that Oathswan can go along way on this evidence [7.5/10]

Track Listing