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Music

PREMIERE: Oathbreaker's Game-Changing New Album, 'Rheia,' Will Rip Your Heart Out

Stream the one-of-a-kind Belgian black metal/hardcore hybrid's new album for Deathwish

Belgium's Oathbreaker have been around for almost a decade now, but after laboring underground for most of that time, the four-person black metal/hardcore hybrid's fortunes are changing. With an upcoming high-profile tour supporting Skeletonwitch, and  new album Rheia, their latest release (and third for hardcore powerhouse Deathwish), the band is poised for a breakthrough.

Oathbreaker is a strange and special beast, one that I'd previously written off ("Deathwish, black metal, hardcore, okay, yeah, I get it") in a move I now fervently regret thanks to Rheia. In a post-Deafheaven world, feverish mergers of black metal and hardcore are almost de rigeur, but Oathbreaker's approach is startlingly unique, thanks to one particular element. You've got the tremolo, the chromatic chords, the rippling melodies, the electronic flourishes and dense atmosphere, the furious bursts of speed and bone-crunch— but then, there's vocalist Caro Tanghe.

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The way her vocal chords bend and slither between a fragile croon, a soaring howl, a harsh snarl, a faraway murmur, and a serrated roar is impressive, to say the least, and adds a whole new range of colors to the band's already far-from-monochromic sonic palette. There are no pat black metal shrieks, no single-note hardcore barks—instead, there's an incredibly rich array of vocal patterns that elevate the music itself to a whole new level.

It's an unexpectedly emotional recording, too—its lyrics stained with blood and desire and poison,—and one can only imagine how hard they hit live. Both North American and European audiences will have ample opportunity to find out, as the band's exhaustive world tour kicks off September 28. Rheia drops September 30, and preorders are live now.

Stream it in its entirety below—and trust me, you don't want to miss this one.

OATHBREAKER ON TOUR:
September 28 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight #
September 29 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl ^
September 30 Savannah, GA @ The Jinx ^
October 1 Tampa, FL @ Crowbar ^
October 2 Gainesville, FL @ The Atlantic ^
October 4 New Orleans, LA @ Siberia ^
October 5 Houston, TX @ White Oak ^
October 6 Dallas, TX @ RBC ^
October 7 Austin, TX @ Barracuda ^
October 9 Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge ^
October 10 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick ^
October 11 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy ^
October 12 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge ^
October 14 Portland, OR @ Panic Room ^
October 15 Seattle, WA @ Highline ^
October 17 Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Bar ^
October 18 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater ^
October 19 Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room %
October 20 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews %
October 21 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock %
October 22 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean %
October 23 Indianapolis, IN @ 5th Quarter %
October 25 Pittsburgh, PA @ Cattivo %
October 26 Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts %
October 28 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus %
October 29 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery %
October 30 Richmond, VA @ Hardywood Brewery %

November 6  Ghent, BE @ Vooruit *Record Release Show*
November 12 Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who festival
November 19 Nijmegen, NL @ Soulcrusher
November 20 Paris, FR @ Petit Bain *
November 21 Rouen, FR @ Hipster Cafe *
November 22 Nantes, FR @ Le Ferrailleur *
November 23 Bordeaux, FR @ I.Boat *
November 24 Biarritz, FR @ Atabal *
November 25 Bilbao, ES @ Wombatfest +
November 26 Lisbon, PT @ Musicbox *
November 27 Porto, PT @ Cave 45 *
November 28 Madrid, ES @ Wurlitzer Ballroom *
November 30 Lyon, FR @ Warmaudio *
December 1 Lausanne, CH @ Le Romandie *
December 3 Milan, IT @ Lo-Fi Club *
December 4 Innsbruck, AT @ PMK *
December 5 Ljubljana, SL @ Gala Hala *
December 6 Vienna, AT @ Arena *
December 7 Prague, CZ @ Klub 007 *
December 8 Munich, DE @ Feierwerk *
December 9 Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz *
December 10 Tilburg, DE @ Incubate festival *
December 11 Berlin, DE @ Musik & Frieden *
December 13 Stockholm, SE @ Hangaren *
December 14 Oslo, NO @ Bla *
December 15 Copenhagen, DE @ Stengade +
December 16 Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang *
December 17 Hannover, DE @ Cafe Glocksee *
December 18 Darmstadt, DE @ Oetinger  *

# with Skeletonwitch, Iron Reagan, All Hell
^ with Skeletonwitch, Iron Reagan, Gatecreeper
% with Skeletonwitch, Iron Reagan, Homewrecker
* w/ WIFE
+ w/ WIFE, Okkultokrati

Photo courtesy of Deathwish

Kim Kelly is feeling nothing on Twitter.