Oath – ‘Legion’

Having recently had the pleasure of reviewing the new Mortuus Rex album, a one man Scottish doom metal project, from guitarist Steven Waddell, his other project Oath’s new EP is a slightly different yet still very interesting musical endeavour. This four track EP is a NWOTHM/NWOBHM fans dream. It’s full of crunchy riffs, virtuosic solos, fast drums and beautiful guitar harmonies. The EP aims to sound like the classic metal bands of the 80s and does so without sacrificing instrument clarity as it has been well produced.

The EP opens with ‘A Dream Of Solitude’. This is a very strong way to begin the EP with galloping rhythms, an extremely catchy chorus and some fantastic Shredding during the solos. The next tracks are the title track ‘Legion’ and ‘Cry Of The Wolf’. These songs both have very melodic guitar intros which really show the NWOBHM influence with the guitar harmonies. These tracks in particular also have a power metal vibe with lyrics based on fantasy similar to the Mortuus Rex songs. Throughout the EP’s runtime The drums sound brilliant with their driving beats and short but sweet fills. The EP finishes with ‘The Carpathian’ (my personal favourite track). The opening riff to this track will get stuck in your head because it’s so chunky and groovy. The bass is particularly powerful in this song, standing out well in the mix with its low rumble which helps keep the verses moving rapidly. The vocals on the EP are very good and remind me of Bruce Dickinson, especially on the first two songs. What’s best is that they never get drowned out by the other instruments and they help each song sound complete.
Overall, I really enjoyed this EP. It may be short but the tracks are top quality and remind me very much of Iron Maiden, which is of course brilliant for any NWOBHM and classic metal fans. My only issue is that I wish there were more songs. My favourite track is ‘The Carpathian’ but ‘A Dream Of Solitude’ is a close second because of those guitar solos however, it’s hard to pick favourites when every song is brilliant.
NR