ALBUM REVIEW: Oath Of Cruelty – Summary Execution At Dawn

In December of 2019 the debut full length from Death-Thrashers OATH OF CRUELTY dropped on Dark Descent Records. This is one of those albums I just had to revisit.

The frenzied riffing and blast beat drums waste not a second, firing us into oblivion with dive-bomb solos and a masterfully disgusting Thrash Metal onslaught, coated in Death Metal brutality. The speeding barrage is met with snarled, hideous vocals that further add to the organically insane musical terrorism. The band immediately demand your respect as they churn out a ridiculously fast and aggressive bombardment of pure Extreme Metal devastation, taking speed over melody (though some can be found in the lead work), blasting out noisy and rivetingly good rhythmic obliteration without missing a beat. Played with proficiency, the tight riff and blast combo is sleazy but nails every pounding hit of savage Death-Thrash maniacally, laying the most ferocious foundation for the barbaric vocal assault to be spewed upon. Churning out high-octane and catastrophically violent tracks is consistently upheld in a way that makes sure there is not a moment of boredom on this half hour record, offering only chaotic torture for all. Slower sections allow the blistering inferno of momentum to rebuild while keeping the tension and extreme velocity intact, gorgeously done. Blasphemously raw, there is nothing “accessible” about this band whom truly ignite the underground Thrash Metal flame that has been less prevalent than Speed, Black or Death Metal in recent months to such an ultimately fantastic degree. These guys have not only revitalised the classic Kreator, Destruction and Sodom sound but have done so in a marvellously unique and exciting way that keeps your adrenaline on overload throughout, utterly killer. Unholy medieval Death Thrash destruction for the speed freaks, do not sleep on this record as long as I did. This will hammer your skull into fragments and you will enjoy it. -8/10