Italy has a rich history in Occult rock music and Doom metal which is heavily steeped in a sinister dark mysterious evil atmosphere, ever since now cult bands such as Death SS, Paul Chain and Black Hole first burst into life out of the countrys ancient cemetaries and into the worldwide music scene in the late 70s/ early 80s and were then followed by bands such as Abysmal Grief ploughing the same occult Doom musical furrow, now you can add Black Oath to that list, who deal in a very traditional epic style of Doom metal which has obvious similarities to Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass both musically and vocally but with an overall very familiar Italian occult vibe to it.
I recently got hold of the bands debut album "The Third Aeon" which was released very recently on CD by the Swedish label "I Hate Records" who are well known for unleashing quality bands upon the unsuspecting world. This 6 tracker is one of the best albums I have heard in the epic traditional Doom style for some years and will definetly appeal to fans of the aforementioned godfathers of both the Italian Horror-Occult Doom and Epic Doom genres aswell as the Doom genre as a whole.
the album is full of soaring melodic vocals, crushing gargantuan doomrock-metal structures with riffs as heavy as tombstones and swathed in a keyboard/organ driven atmosphere that just evokes pure darkness and doom.
Hails! can you please tell the readers abit about the origins of Black Oath and who does what in the band? what were your inspirations to play in such a musical style?
-Hello,We ( A.th ,P.V. and C.z.) have signed the Black Oath with the goal to continue the tradition born and created in the cemeteries of Italy by cursed acts such as DEATH ss,PAUL CHAIN,ZESS,JACULA and more..Inspiration comes out as a natural feeling as we breath and live the MAGICK that surrounds us..Everything here seems to be cursed because of our legends and myths about superstitions and darkness…So it is natural for us to create this kind of music..
Your debut album is a great piece of epic traditional Doom with strong occult influences, what are your overall thoughts on the album, are you happy with how it turned out, what has the response been like overall to it so far? I am reminded of Robert Lowe vocally, I guess that is a comparison you might of heard before?
-Thanx for your word, we are satisfied by the final result as the album is born exactly how it was meant to be..Songs are very creepy and occult and the sound is perfect to give the music the right morbid atmosphere..We have worked very hard to find the perfect soundtrack to a funeral..Vocals are not similar to Robert Lowe but we thank you for comparing it to him..CANDLEMASS is of CURSE a band we like and respect..Album title means a lot for US..3 are the band members, 3rd as our release and 3 as magick number..The Aeon shows what we are now, after some changing inside the band ..SOLVE ET COAGULA
The album was released by I Hate Records, how did that deal come about? Were you familiar with much of their past release output?
-We simply sent him a promo Cd after having several problems with another label(well known in the genre)..Peter showed us a serious interest and the deal has taken life by itself..He has signed the Black Oath and will burn in hell for this ah ah !! I Hate has released most of the interesting stuff we listen to..JEX THOTH, NIFELHEIM, ABYSMAL GRIEF AND more..About LP version we have to mention HORROR RECORDS, this label is doing a lot for us too..I think we have found the best labels to spread our curse..
You have some shows in Europe coming up including some festivals, do you play live a lot in your home country? What shows across Europe have you got planned? What can people expect from a Black Oath live show
-Yes,we have planned some gigs in festivals, METAL MAGIC (DK),MUSKELROCK (SWE) and HELL’s PLEASURE (GER)..Don’t expect nothing else but a magick celebration to burn your soul in hell with us!
About our country,we need serious reasons to play in..WE have to find the right place, moment and bands to share the stage .. We have no time to waste playing in front of useless people…We need servants of darkness,screaming and worshipping our cult..
Italy has a rich history of occult Doom bands, why do you think this is? Are there any other modern Italian Doom bands playing in the same style as yourselves that you can tell us about?
-As we told You before there is a magick atmosphere here, everything seems to speak about death. And don’t forget we have the best cemeterys, catacombs and monuments ..The only new outcomers I can mention are HANDS OF ORLAC from Rome..They play a bit different from us but it’s a very interesting band..Abysmal Grief is another band we support even if it’s not a new one …
The worldwide Doom metal scene is very vibrant right now with some great bands from all across the world making their doomed mark on the musical world, what are some current Doom bands you can recommend to the readers who they might not be familiar with and who are personal favourites of yours??
-We know there’s no need to name THE DEVIL’s BLOOD or GHOST so we recommend you HOODED PRIEST, JEX THOTH, HOUR OF 13, ANGUISH, WOODEN STAKE and SANCTA SANCTORUM (feat STEVE SYLVESTER from Death ss)..We think there‘s a sort of revival for doom music..Be it classic,occult or horror..Every band has a personal path to follow..
Thanks for answering my questions, any last words you would like to share with the readers?
-Thanx for this interesting interview , you are about to sign the BLACK OATH..
Our Deepest Condolences to you and the readers…
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