Anyone lamenting the recent departure of Messiah Marcolin from the ranks of Candlemass (yet again) needs to get a hold of this debut offering from Greece's Infidel, titled I, Oathbreaker. With a huge influence apparent from vintage Candlemass, as well as such heavyweights as Black Sabbath, Trouble, Savatage, Metallica, early Grand Funk Railroad, and Thin Lizzy, this is booming doom metal with a slight touch of early 70's hard rock, showing a band with plenty of power and finesse on their maiden voyage.
From start to finish there's no letting up here, with one crushing riff after another from Dennis Kostopoulos. Honestly, I haven't heard this much delicious riff-o-rama since the days of Nightfall and Ancient Dreams era Candlemass, or even the early recordings of Trouble. Yiannis Poussios sounds like a young Messiah Marcolin, and his soaring vocals fly over the top of such crushers "Mourning Demon", "Echoes in Vain", and "Golden Hips of Dawn", the latter a bruising funk-metal track that shows the bands classic rock pedigree with some inspired Grand Funk/Lizzy/Marino grooves. The band moves into extreme doom territory on the killer "Consumer Patterns", which has some kick-ass riffs and a mix of high pitched and lower register, almost growling vocals from Poussios. The band slows things down for the epic doom of "Succubus", a very Sabbath inspired piece that also has some evil death metal growls to go along with the crushing guitar dirges. The melodic swagger of "Infidel Theme" is like a cross between Candlemass, Iron Maiden, and Trouble, while the closer "Circle of Shame" is a huge wall of massive metal riffs and Poussios' commanding vocal attack.
Let's also give credit to drummer Manos Giakoumakis and bassist Chris Kissadjekian, who combine for some truly monstrous rhythms throughout I, Oathbreaker. Coupled with the obvious talents of both Yiannis and Dennis help make this debut from Infidel a truly remarkable modern doom record that pushes all the right buttons and reminds us of all the legends of the genre that we've listened to over the years. Impressive stuff, and I'll be keeping an eye on this band in the months and years to come. Highly recommended!
Track Listing
1. Mourning Demon
2. Dreamer Redeemer
3. Echoes in Vain
4. Facing the Mirror
5. Golden Hips of Dawn
6. Consumer Patterns
7. Tripping on Revenge
8. Succubus
9. Infidel Theme
10. Circle of Shame
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