DARK OATH
Ages Of Man
DARK OATH is a Portuguese symphonic death metal band that was formed in 2009. When their debut album “Where Fire Engulfs The Earth” came out in 2016 they took on the challenging subject of Norse Mythology highlighting the events of Ragnarok. The album was followed by the single “Vikings Theme Song” which was very popular on streaming services.
Now the band is ready to release their sophomore album “Ages Of Man”, out on January 18th, 2024. This time the band turn their focus to Greek Mythology exploring the Ages Of Humanity in parts – Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroic and Iron –based on the poetry of Ancient Greek poet Hesiod.
The first two singles from the album are “Gold I (Dawn Of Time)” and “Bronze I (Stolen Flame)”, each accompanied by a video available on the band’s YouTube channel. Each Age has two dedicated parts in song except the final Age of Iron which concludes the album as a singular song.
Beginning with the Age of Gold – “Gold I (Dawn Of Time)” and “Gold II (Fall Of Time)” – the nine songs tell the stories of the Ages in epic style taking the listener on an epic journey through the Ages of the highs and lows of humanism.
Each song has elements of brutal death metal backed with symphonic orchestrations, quieter acoustic moments and choir-like backing vocals. Unlike the debut album, there are no guitar solos here, but there is enough variance in sound to keep it from sounding too ‘similar’. The production is very good with a lot going on at the same time – the mix captures all the instruments with nothing buried. The symphonic arrangements enrich the sound as the songs are played with imposing dynamism building the drama of each chapter of the historic stories.
The contribution of the band members is outstanding. Each playing their parts to perfection. They are: Sara Leitão – Vocals, Joël Martins – Guitar and Orchestrations, Sérgio Pinheiro – Guitar, Alfonso Aguiar – Bass and Léo Luyckx – Drums. Sara is a force of nature on the microphone with her screaming vocals.
As proven by their debut and this new album DARK OATH is not afraid of taking up the gauntlet and accepting the ambitious task of chronicling legendary tales authored by historical scholars.The band have been busy on the European touring circuit and proving popular with the metal influenced audiences. Though it’s been seven years between the two albums, there is a notable progression and growth within the band and their sound. I recommend DARK OATH and “Ages Of Man” to every fan of epic melodic and symphonic death metal. And let’s hope it’s not another seven- year wait between albums.
Peter Sym