[Cover art by Nox Fragor Art]
We here at Last Rites are big believers in Chilean metal, with Mr. Tysinger in particular championing the scene. Something really tying a lot of the active acts together, no matter if they’re playing death, black, trad, power, or something less easily definable, is their effusive personality and absolute zest for the material. The current Valparaíso scene ‒ which includes Nube Negra friends Vórtize, Demoniac, and Terror Strike, plus another band family with Necroripper, Critical Defiance, and about 10 others ‒ absolutely exudes this quality, but a quick glance elsewhere proves that metal personality goes a long way throughout the world’s skinniest nation.
As for hunting those influences… Blood Oath plays a proggy, techy form of death metal as it was heard from about ‘90 to ‘94, but there’s a touch more looseness and capital-E Evil here than you might have gotten from Death or Atheist back in the day. There’s also a lot of spidery and spindly riffage mixed with the sleekness, showing a bit of an affinity for a rawer, almost proto-black metal vibe. Maybe set up your cards up like…
Granted, it’s a lot more of the top three than the bottom two, but there’s no denying that Blood Oath’s proggy, techy death has a gloriously malevolent or even mildly theatrical touch at times. That quality is apparent in both the bell toll that kicks off opener “Beyond the Dimensional Gates” and in Ignacio Canales’s gruff, demonic growl, which is a far cry from Chuck Schuldiner’s bite or Kelly Shaefer’s snide rasp. The vocals maintain that evil vibe alongside the record’s sleek but somewhat loose ‒ or rather, more open ‒ take on tech death. The approach includes oodles of unpredictable shifts and turns, heaps of three-part harmonies (Matías Canales’s fretless bass is always in on the bubbly action), and borderline ludicrous drumming. Benjamín Soto misses precisely zero opportunities to add a flair, rapid blast, subtle shift in cadence, or sassy shuffle, with some of his most fun material occurring when he’s doing his best Gene Hoglan-on-Symbolic impression while the riffs head off into territory more representative of a band like The Chasm (parts of “The Journey into the Depths”).
Another nod to the early 90s is how the album’s leads wail into existence in that perfectly expressive way heard on albums like Unquestionable Presence, with the riff and drum accompaniment providing its own changes as the solos tell their stories. This is where that personality, that soul, shines through the brightest. A track like “Sanctuary of Souls” has plenty of great Deathish riffery and neckbreaking stop-start passages, but it’s in how the absolutely buttery lead melts into form right out of a softer spot that provides the song’s biggest highlight. “Reflections of Darkness” likely features highlight reel leads, with Soto really playing around with his beat shifts underneath a later solo.
Soto’s exhausting/somewhat exhaustive performance really exemplifies what Blood Oath is doing over the entirety of Lost in an Eternal Silence. This record is basically always in motion, and it all adds up to an album that is frequently a lot, in terms of how much you’re digesting within each song and particular moment, and there are some areas where the band could tighten up their songwriting. Thankfully, the record barely passes the 40-minute mark, which is a perfect runtime when you’re getting blasted with so many riffs, drum patterns, zany bass lines, and mood shifts. Even when you think you’re getting lost in their sometimes maze-like song structures, Blood Oath always has another infectious tech riff or wicked lead ready right around the corner to make sure you stay hooked. A very promising first album from a band already nailing the FEEL factor, this one.
