• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Emeth Truth and Death is the fifth album from Italy's Black Oath. I reviewed their second album, Ov Qliphoth and Darkness, and liked it well enough that I was excited to see this one drop into my review queue. In my review of that earlier album, I likened Black Oath's doom sound to pioneers like Sabbath and Candlemass and, while that is still the basis for their sound, it has changed quite a bit from what I remember. On Emeth Truth and Death there is a distinct gothic vibe going on, with layered keyboards and spoken word vocals that create an emotional, introspective atmosphere rather than a dark and creepy one. There are some good riffs with suitable reverb, but they are too few and far between for my taste and there are more vocal lines that don't do much of anything except drag. The whispered vocals do manage to be disturbing and, on "Wounded Temple," there's a passing resemblance to something you might hear on Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath but I felt like I was listening to Type O Negative outtakes more than once. I get the feeling Black Oath was trying something different with Emeth Truth and Death, but it doesn't work well, leaving the album a weird, confused collection of songs that don't have an identity. Disappointing.