The Eyes of Tremendous Sorrow

i was recommended these guys under the influence that they sound like the japanese band SIGH, but more traditional black metal. For the most part i'd agree, but this korean band reminds me a little more of Nokturnal Mortum, whereas they have two keyboardists, and encorporate some korean instruments. all the songs are structured very well, and each encorporates something different. All in all a breath of fresh air in the stale black metal scene today. Fans looking for a similar sound should also check out Chthonic's 9th empyrium.

Now this is a hot album. I enjoyed the other Oathean releases mainly because of the varied selection of instruments, and for their melodic riffs. This album, however, is more varied than their other releases, and the riffs are a lot more varied, all of them giving an extremely unique depressing/sad feeling. Ahh, feeling. The one thing this album doesn't fail to deliver is feeling. I find emotions in every single riff of this album, whether it be an acoustic riff, brutal agressive riff, or anything else that comes up in this masterpiece. This album doesn't only stick to guitars though. I hear some instruments i've never heard before, (like in the beginning of "The Eyes of Tremendous Sorrow"), I think it's some sort of flute or maybe an harmonica. Anyways the point is that that instrument not only gives the song its own sound, but it also gives a sorrow feeling to the listener (look the song's title!).

A few songs on this album are a bit slower (see "The Rotten Egg Smell Stuck on my Belly"), and they give a doom metal feeling. That song eventually gets longer though, with its melodic and melancholic riffs. I am still stunned by how much this album delivers. First, you're listening to some emotional melodic riffing, and then you're listening to some agressive technical riffage. That alone gives the album a
+10%. My favourite song on the album is "The Eyes of Tremendous Sorrow", without a doubt. This is the song that starts with the forementioned flute/ harmonica, and later becomes a more agressive song. The song doesn't feel long at all, thanks to the acoustic interludes with that are accompanied by some other sort of flute.

A great album, very varied. Get it if you can.

I was really impressed with this piece of work when I got it three years ago, and recently, when I took it out to listen to it, it still amazed me. These guys do a sort of ethnic metal, kind of like Orphaned Land, but done up in an Asian fashion, and mixed with the moody black metal stylings of Dissection.
Songs rarely go faster than a fast/midpaced cruise, but this is where Oathean excells. The guitarist uses a lot of different techniques, from fast tremolo picking to fast, palm muted riffs. Their riffs are really well orchestrated, and they know how to build up a song, often using very different song structures.
Drums and bass are pretty standard for black metal. Nothing spectacular but nothing terrible. Vocals are of course raspy black metal screeching.
The spectrum of moods is this albums most powerful aspect (in addition to the riffing), and it always keeps a really melancholic feeling. When they do slow things down, they'll often times bring in some traditional Korean instruments. While these do sound really strange at first, once you get used to them they bring out the emotions even better. The intro is just acoustic guitar and a slew of weird Korean stuff, but it works well. On one of the songs they even use one of these instruments during the first riff as a sort of melody.
The lyrics are all in Korean, but the song titles are printed in English on the back. I really have no idea what they are saying (but on this website they do have the lyrics translated), but I did an interview with them and they explained that the songs are about sadness and stuff like that. Oh, and "The Rotten Egg Smell Stuck on my Belly" is about Japanese occupation of Korea. Strange titles, but I suppose in their native language they mean a lot more.
I'm really looking forward to their new album, because I think that they can still improve from what they've done with this album. Their stuff is kind of hard to find, but it's well worth it if you're looking for something with strong riffing, good atmosphere and that little ethnic touch.