They may not be quite as well-known as some of the other melodic/symphonic death metal bands out there, but Portugal’s Dark Oath has been offering their own epic take on the genre for close to fifteen years now. It’s been a little while since the group’s full-length debut, When Fire Engulfs the Earth, which came out back in 2016. Since that time, they’ve recruited new drummer Léo Luyckx and been hard at work on a follow-up, which has now arrived in the form of Ages of Man. This effort continues the emphasis on powerful melodic leads, huge orchestration, and towering vocals, but streamlines and trims some of the excess of its predecessor. It does still blur together at some points which just how dense and loud the instrumentation is, but there are plenty of bright spots that make this one of the first exciting death metal albums of 2024.
Opener “Gold I (Dawn of Time)” greets listeners with some softer orchestration before the sound completely explodes into an epic blast of guitar melodies, pounding drums, and orchestration that makes it feel like you’re hearing everything from the top of a tall mountain peak. Dark Oath has clearly focused on layering their ideas to have the maximum amount of impact, and as a result they reach a level of power and scale that really impress. It’s a lot to take in on that first listen, as the aggressive and melodic sides fuse together into a wall of sound that hits hard while still enticing you to dive in deeper and discover the finer details. The symphonic elements are woven seamlessly in with the rest of the instruments and often stand out just as much of the guitar work, and you can tell that the songs were written with these components in mind rather than the orchestration being added as an atmospheric flourish only. Considering the material focuses on the different periods of humankind, the melodies take on both a Renaissance and Middle Eastern flair depending on the song you’re on, and that gives Dark Oath a good deal of variety as well as a slightly different tone compared to bands like Septicflesh or Fleshgod Apocalypse. At times the fusion of the soaring symphonies and aggressive guitar and bass work reminds me a lot of the Keep of Kalessin album from last year, but with songwriting that pulls more from melodic and traditional death metal. Compared to When Fire Engulfs the Earth, Ages of Man is more streamlined and achieves its peaks in a shorter period of time which works to the band’s advantage. Tracks like “Silver 1 (A New King)” and “Bronze 1 (Stolen Flame)” use their four to five minute runs effectively, offering memorable leads and larger than life, cinematic orchestration that stands out upon repeat listens without overstretching out individual passages. Admittedly there are some sections on a few of the songs that blur together over repeat listens though, as even though Dark Oath does give you some interludes and respites from the sheer wall of sound there are a lot of similarly constructed moments. This emphasis on the thrashier side of melodic death metal where speed and power dominate does make some of the full blast moments blend together, but it’s still an enjoyable ride and the high points more than make up for it.
Vocalist Sara Leitão has been with Dark Oath since the very beginning, and she utilizes a raspier scream that gives off more of that late 90s to mid-2000s melodic death metal tone. There are definitely some Angela Gossow vibes at times, and that mid-period Arch Enemy vibe over huge symphonic soundscapes goes a long way in making Ages of Man appealing. With how big and booming the production is the vocals sometimes feel like they could get swallowed up in the chaos, but they always manage to break back through and take the spotlight. The same can’t quite be said of some of the backing screams from other members of the group, as you can make them out if you really pay full attention to the vocal performances but they do sometimes get washed away. This isn’t a huge issue, but it could also be one of the reasons that a few of the songs come off as a bit uniform. The closing track “Iron (Through the Veil of Night)” brings in Fleshgod Apocalypse’s Paolo Rossi as a guest vocalist, and his soaring clean singing works well alongside Leitão’s ear piercing screams.
A lot of time may have passed since the last Dark Oath album, but they’ve returned with a bang. The songwriting trims some of the fat from their debut and goes for even bigger orchestration and huge moments, channeling the aggression and speed of Gothenburg melodic death metal but integrating the symphonic elements naturally into this foundation. The sheer loudness and emphasis on speed does result in some moments that can be hard to tell apart, but the ones that do stand out have kept me coming back regularly over the past week. It’s exciting to see this band refine their approach and really hit some truly epic levels as they reach the fifteen-year mark, and despite some flaws I still expect to be listening to this one well into 2024.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg