The Oath (self-titled)

You'd be forgiven for thinking this is an all girl band. And for just staring at the cover for a while...One of the earmarks of a thing becoming bigger than just being a thing is when it starts having its own variations. As with the retro thing going around, you're starting to see some subdivision within the normal makeup, which keeps an otherwise boring pattern from becoming monotony.

In this case, I'm speaking of The Oath and their self-titled debut album featuring their version of that wonderful, warm 70s vibe (with occult overtones, in this case) that's spread like friggin' gangbusters all over Northern Europe. The brainchild of Johanna Sadonis and Linnéa Olsson, The Oath have a rock solid foundation of thick, meaty riffs and whiskey-soaked vocals that sound like what should be playing under the Taarakian segment of a new Heavy Metal movie. This is music with old school balls of steel, baby, which is delightfully ironic coming from two beautiful, leather-clad blondes. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to find hair on their chests - nor would I mind women.

[Editor's note: Re-reading that bit I see how insulting that can be. So I changed it. Fair enough?]

All [bad] jokes aside, The Oath is a really great album in part because it pays homage to the great elements of the best of an era's music rather than merely imitating the sound. There's some great production on the album as well with just enough distortion and a touch of vocal reverb (note, ladies: not all female singers need to scream like they're in labor in order to make a song rock), keeping it all simple while evoking the spartan setups of bands of metal yore - unlike the highly processed, multi-layered opuses many modern bands attempt today. Really nice work here.

The Bottom Line: The Oath may be "another one of those damned retro bands", but this one's really got the goods; great riffs, killer style, sexy vocals, and enough leathered up charisma to make for a rocking good time.

Tracks That Might Cause You To Spontaneously Develop Tattoos: Night Child, Black Rainbow, and Silver and Dust

- Genghis may have just fallen in love with yet another female guitarist (sigh)...