Musings: Lord Mountain – The Oath

Lord Mountain hails from Santa Rosa, California. Although the quartet has been around for a number of years, The Oath is their first LP, following their self-titled EP in 2016. The album was released last Friday via Santa Fe, New Mexico’s psych/doom/occult rock label King Volume Records. This debut is as solid as they come, a perfect concoction of old school doom and traditional heavy metal.

With “Well of Fates”, a high fantasy Sword & Sorcery epic begins. Hail the riff! From the get-go, we get a late ‘70s Sabbath/early ‘80s metal vibe. Jesse Swanson’s vocals lead the assault amid pummeling drums coursing throughout the tune and peppered with terrific guitar solos. “The Giant” is a slower number, a powerful doomy track with stellar musical execution from everyone involved. “Beyond the Frozen Sea” is a short and quiet instrumental as seems to be more and more frequent on albums these days. It’s good but it could’ve simply been included as an intro in the next song without making it its own track. “The Last Crossing” is a moderate tempo track that turns bassy and gloomy at the bridge. Old school doom at its best! “Chasm of Time” is my favourite song on The Oath. It’s like a battle cry, it pushes onward head-on as the story moves forward. Great stuff! We arrive at the third act with “The Sacrifice”, a first-rate tune with exceptional duel guitar playing. It has a melody that sticks with you. Shit’s about to go down at the “Serpent Temple”! A highlight of the LP for the storytelling alone. The conclusion comes with song number 8, the title track, featuring a brilliant bassline and a superb guitar solo to end the quest on a powerful note.

Fans of all eras of Black Sabbath, Pentagram, and ‘80s metal in general will find something to cheer about with The Oath. The Sword & Sorcery fan in me really enjoyed the ongoing storytelling aspect of the album. It feels like a mini audiobook at times, played against a backdrop of dazzling doomy metal music. Lord Mountain shows they are lords of the doom mountain with this stunning debut.

Lord Mountain on Bandcamp: https://lordmountain1.bandcamp.com/music