For those of in North America new to Oathbreaker tell us a bit about the band.
Oathbreaker is a band from Belgium, Europe, that plays the kind of metal influenced hardcore that you know from bands like Cursed, From Ashes Rise, etc. Right after our formation in 2008, we released a self titled 7” on the British label Thirty Days Of Night Records and earlier this year our debut full album Mælstrøm came out on Deathwish Inc.
How did you come to work with Deathwish Inc?
After Mælstrøm was recorded and mixed, we were getting ready to send it out to some labels as we had no clue who was going to release it. Before we had the chance to do so, however, a friend of ours had Jacob Bannon listen to some of the tracks. When he proposed to put out the album, we didn’t hesitate: so many great bands are or have been on Deathwish. We’re proud to be part of this.
Your sound to my ears is a mix of Post Hardcore, Crust and Doom metal... Were did the combination of sounds come from to create this?
We’re definitely not claiming that we’ve succeeded in inventing the most original sound of the century here. Bands like Integrity, Converge, Rise And Fall, Tragedy have been paving the way for a much longer time. I believe we just share of those same influences and come up with our own version of that sound.
The vocals are so amazingly powerful I didnt even know that your female fronted.. It reminds me of bands like Damad, Crisis, Khylst, Made out of Babies, Walls of Jericho even Babes in Toyland. Were these bands any kind of influence?
I take this as a huge compliment as I truly admire some of the above mentioned bands, but I don’t believe any of them deeply influenced our singer. Maybe Walls of Jericho showed her at a young age that it was possible for a girl to be fronting a hardcore band, but style wise, she has pretty much gone without too many outside influences, up until now at least. When she sings, she sounds more or less the same as she did when she first discovered that ability.
The Artwork on Mælstrøm is very interesting to say the least how does it play into the theme of the record and the songs?
Thanks, it was done by our friends from webecameaware and we're quite happy about it ourselves. We started from something that's vey recognizable to anyone who's seen us live: our singer Caro's hair. That was put under a scanner and here and there some pieces of rodent skeletons were thrown in. So no Photoshop there! Caro chose the title "Mælstrøm" to describe a downward spiral of negativity that was dragging her down at the time. In the inner sleeve of the cd/lp, you can see that the hair is wet, as if she literally had been in a maelstrom.
6. I know you have a facebook and twitter outlet but I don't see an official website ? Do you feel these things are not needed for bands any longer?
Maybe when your band is huge, the audience more or less demands an official website, but for us facebook, twitter and tumblr seem to be doing the trick.
7.Belgium has an impressive Hardcore and Metal scene do you feel this has helped get your band noticed at all or was it a real struggle to get know outside local circles?
That strong hardcore scene you refer to has been present for so long that it’s actually hard to imagine what it would have been like playing music in a country or area where this is not the case. Bands like Rise And Fall have drawn so much attention to our scene that we don’t feel like we ever had to really struggle for it.
Will Oathbreaker be touring North America at all in 2011/2012?
In 2011 we’ll be playing Europe a lot, but for 2012, if the circumstances are right, why not?!
Deathwish Inc says your album is one of the best Debuts they have ever had the honor of releasing . That must make the band feel proud and like you signed with the right label.. How has the promotion and support been so far?
We definitely feel like Deathwish Inc. is perfect for us. They’re hardworking and easygoing people. We feel that they’ve done a tremendous job at getting our music to exactly the right people.
10. The Video for "Origin" is all out heavy and powerful its such a good show of bands sound. What has the feed back been on this very professional made video..
We’ve gotten a lot of positive reactions to the video. A friend of ours, Mathieu Vandekerckhove (who plays guitar in Amenra), shot and edited it. He worked really quickly and did the whole thing practically for free, as we could never afford doing something like that if we had to bring in a professional. So overall, the video was definitely a good move as it helped people all over the world to get an idea of what Oathbreaker is about.
There is such a Sludgy doom element to your music . Were does the sorrrow come from. Its reminds me of bands like Eyehategod, Noothgrush, Cavity and Thorrs Hammer..
You definitely correctly spotted Eyehategod there! What can we say, we just love the sheer power of those slow heavy riffs. Crowbar is another one of those bands that never ceases to blow us away.
12. What is the overall message a band like Oathbreaker is trying to present to the world?
We’re four very different individuals, so we refrain from presenting the audience with a moral or political message, but if there’s one thing we would like to say to people it’s this: You’re in control of your own life. It’s never been easier for a even a tiny band to reach thousands of people all over the world. You don’t even need an actual band anymore. Anything is possible. These are clichés, but true.
13. To the members of Oathbreaker do you feel all this Streaming, Digital Downloading, Internet Radio and social networking help or hurt a indie band once the get a proper label to support them. I'm sure up to that point its the best way to get the exposure..
They way the internet changed the way we find new music is so absolute and irreversible, that it’s probably pointless to even ask ourselves whether it’s a good or bad thing. Despite having a proper label, I believe the things you mention still get us a lot more exposure than would have been possible otherwise. Our own label even streams our entire album for free!
What are the members of Oathbreaker listening to (anything that would shock the normal fan?)
The year is 2011. I’m sure just because we play a heavier kind of music, nobody expects us to actually be bathing in blood and feeding off children’s corpses while we’re listening to Mayhem all day. I think everyone in the band listens to a wide range of music. I have the worst taste however. I thoroughly enjoy listening to Max Martin hits. I find it fascinating how this guy has cracked the code to writing the perfect pop single.
15. Thanks for the time any closing thoughts here
Thanks for listening to Mælstrøm and being interested in our band. We hope to meet many of you on the road!!
