Welcome back to Bandcamp Buried Treasure! I swear I wasn't looking for two United Kingdom metal bands in a row, it's just that the U.K. apparently has some excellent bands and I've found two at the same time. Either way, you're getting quality jams! Anyway, you know the rules of the article by now:
- I hunt down awesome artists on Bandcamp that have their album up for Buy It Now/Free Download and give them a write up. I'm not explicitly telling you to download the album for free since I'm a big supporter of buying your music, but I like the option for my readership to be there.
- The goal is to introduce you to smaller bands or obscure side-projects you might not have heard of. Anything to expand your musical horizons by just a little bit each week!
- And of course, for there to be a conversation about similar bands or bands you think I should be covering. I check the comments section!
Like I've been saying, I switched the format up a bit with two new sections, titled "The Basic Idea" and "Why I Love It." The former is a short news-style lede that paints a vivid picture of what you're about to hear to get you interested and help you understand a little why I chose the record, while the latter serves simply as a review piece.
The usual being said, let's get weirdly progressive with Oakhaart!
The Basic Idea
For some reason the vocals in Oakhaart remind me of Devin Townsend and the music is like if Gojira's style were taken up by Between the Buried and Me. Comparisons drawn, Oakhaart serve up a highly original progressive metal album that there's no way you're going to want to miss.
Why I Love It
Oakhaart is a progressive album that isn't ashamed of its progressive nature, but doesn't take it so far that it's just a bunch of wanky crap. The song that really sold me on the record is "A Darkened Mind," which has a bunch of meaty riffs, really oddly-time sections and these massively shreddy guitar parts that just won't get out of my head. Who ever though playing faster than the speed of light would be attractive enough to be considered an ear worm? Yet here we are.
Then there's vocalist Sam Shier, who pretty much blew me away right off the bat and then just kept going throughout the entire release. I'm not sure to what extent guitarist Max Medlow does vocals as well considering he's listed for it and guitars, but the duo certainly know how to write a hook or two into an otherwise very technical album.
This is probably one of the most simple reviews I have had on here yet- Oakhaart fucking rule. There's too much to their sound to properly explain it to you, and by the time I could have done so you'd have made it through the release anyway. Jam it from to back, jam it loud and make sure you're paying attention to what's going on. It's a doozy!
