The self titled masterpiece (that’s right, I said masterpiece!) from Sacred Oath opens in a huge way with “Paradise Lost” exploding like ten thousand guitars raining down on a city of Jonas Brothers fans.  I knew in the first thirty seconds of this track that something special was underway and that this album was going to stomp a complete mud hole in me.  Rob Thorne’s vocals are perhaps the absolute best I have ever heard them as he sings about wanting to know when all the chaos going on in the world will come to a boil and eventually bring about the end. 

As I listen to this track, I do not hear a band that was around in the 80’s and subsequently disappeared, now in the new millennium back trying to recapture what they had and be relevant in today’s music scene.  Instead, I hear a band that is a part of today and does not have to try very hard at what once was.  A feeling of youthfulness is clearly present in newer bands like Trivium and when listening to Oath (who released their first album in 1987) I can say the same accolades.

It was not until “Blood Storm”, the second track on the album, that I realized just how much Rob Thorne actually reminds me of heavy metal vocal great Sebastian Bach.  Rob has an incredible unique voice which can clearly stand on its own without needing to be compared to others, but I would say at times traits of the former Skid Row frontman are present and even a little bit of Lizzy Borden.  The guitar work here on “Blood Storm” is just top notch (as it is throughout the rest of the album) and speaking of stellar guitar work the opening guitar riffs to “Buried Alive” would make Hank Shermann and Michael Denner (Mercyful Fate) proud. 

Let’s fast forward to track number 7, my personal favorite, “Mistress of the Setting Sun” (note: up to this point there has not been a single weak song on the album).   “Mistress” opens heavy as a bulldozer crashing through a wall but with a somewhat modern touch (think of that grinding Slipknot single “Psychosocial”).  What’s unique here is the verses as Rob changes up his delivery with the result potentially pleasing the ears of many of today’s younger metalheads.  The vocals and tempo arrangement change as the chorus hits bringing back a killer old school metal feel only to transform again when the next verse hits.  Perhaps this is Sacred Oath taking their old school roots and injecting them into today’s metal scene showing they can easily fit in and are not just a throwback band.

Several tracks later the band offers up “Order of the System Lords” and all I have to say is… Wow, I need a fucking neck brace!  This is by far one of the heaviest songs of the last 20 years in all of metal.  “Scourge of Sins” hits like a ton of bricks (yes, that means think classic Metal Church!) from the opening second.  Another favorite of mine.

The album ends with the excellent “Hunt for the Fallen Angel” and after 14 tracks (if you have the deluxe edition with four bonus tracks) I am left feeling disappointed and not because the album is bad, but because it is over and I want more!  Sacred Oath has made a clear statement with this album and it is that they are not to be fucked with.  I feel that it was a wise move to make this their self titled album because this is the album that has truly raised the bar and is now the benchmark that everything else will be compared to. Oath has shown that they are from the old school but they can very much be a major force in today’s metal scene.  I truly hope that someone takes note and gives these talented guys Rob Thorne, Bill Smith, Kenny Evans, and Scott Waite the exposure that they deserve.  I no longer look at Sacred Oath as just another cool metal band in my collection but I rank them among my elite which include the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Whitesnake, Metallica, and Savatage.  Some may crucify me for this but I feel that this album surpasses both the releases that Saxon and Grave Digger have put out this year (and both are very strong) but you cannot present me with the cross until you hear this album for yourself.  “Sacred Oath” hits stores this May and it is in your best interest as a metal head to buy this album and receive the metal oath that shall not be broken!