Rheia
Studio album by
Oathbreaker
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)
RecordedApril 2016[1]
StudioAtomic Garden Studio[1]
(East Palo Alto, California)
Genre
Length63:22
LabelDeathwish
ProducerJack Shirley, Oathbreaker
Oathbreaker chronology
Eros|Anteros
(2013)		 Rheia
(2016)

Rheia is the third studio album by Belgian metal band Oathbreaker. The album was produced by Jack Shirley and released through independent record label Deathwish Inc. on September 30, 2016.[5] Oathbreaker toured internationally in support of Rheia from September until December with Skeletonwitch and Iron Reagan.[6] The title references Rhea, mother goddess in Greek mythology.

Background

Following 2013's Eros/Anteros, the band's first release to feature clean vocals, Oathbreaker decided to continue the mix of clean and harsh vocals on their next album, making sure to "not sound like a Nightwish cover band." Rheia was recorded in San Francisco with producer Jack Shirley, who was known for his work with bands like Deafheaven and Loma Prieta.[7] The band also wanted the album to sound less dark and aggressive than its predecessor.[8] "Stay Here/Accroche-Moi" was the final song to be recorded.[9]

Lead vocalist Caro Tanghe said that her lyrics for Rheia were the most direct that she had written, which was inspired by her boyfriend and bandmate Gilles Demolder encouraging her to open up more.[8] Both Tanghe and Demolder stated that singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek was the main influence on Rheia's lyrics, which tackle subjects ranging from the death of Tanghe's grandmother to her strained personal relationships to her estranged parents.[7][8]

The album's cover art depicts Tanghe and Demolder's hands joined together with burning candle wax as it reacts to cold water.[7][9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!8/10[11]
Pitchfork7.8/10[2]
PopMatters6/10[12]
Sputnikmusic3.8/5[13]

Rheia was well received by music critics upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on five reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[10] Exclaim!'s Natalie Zina Walschots thought that the band has released "a vast and complex record that doesn't just react toward but actively embraces the aesthetics of doom and sludge."[11] Andy O'Conor of Pitchfork said of the album: "While still fairly beholden to black metal, Rheia shares a core ideal with Cobalt's Slow Forever and Deafheaven's New Bermuda: They broke out of black metal's stylistic confines, using it as a launching pad more than a set of totalitarian marching orders, and in the process became emotive, powerful metal albums."[2] PopMatters critic Chris Conaton described the record as "wonderful in terms of contrasting black metal fury with quieter moments," but thought that the songwriting lags behind the atmosphere."[12] Sputnikmusic staff critic Tristan Jones described the album as "a swan song," writing that the record "demonstrates the band’s evident progress instrumentally and vocally and [Jack] Shirley’s influence takes them to new heights, and chasmic lows."[13]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Rank
Treble[14] US The Top 50 Albums of 2016 50
Consequence of Sound[15] US The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016 9
Terrorizer[16] UK Albums Of The Year 2016 3
Noisey[17] US The 100 Best Albums of 2016 20

Track listing

All music and lyrics written by Oathbreaker.[1]

No.TitleLength
1."10:56"2:11
2."Second Son of R."5:55
3."Being Able to Feel Nothing"7:08
4."Stay Here / Accroche-Moi"5:12
5."Needles in Your Skin"7:14
6."Immortals"8:52
7."I'm Sorry, This Is"4:14
8."Where I Live"7:01
9."Where I Leave"8:52
10."Begeerte"6:43

Personnel

Rheia personnel adapted from CD liner notes.[1]

Oathbreaker

  • Lennart Bossu - Guitars
  • Ivo Debrabandere - Drums
  • Gilles Demolder - Guitars, Bass
  • Caro Tanghe - Vocals

Additional musicians

  • Wim Coppers – drums on "Second Son of R.," "Being Able to Feel Nothing," "Needles in Your Skin" and "Where I Live"
  • Treha Sektori – electronic arrangements on "I'm Sorry, This Is," "Where I Live" and "Where I Leave"

Production

  • Jack Shirley – recording, producing, engineering, mixing and mastering
  • Oathbreaker – production

Artwork

  • Hemel – art direction
  • Jeroen Mylle – photography
  • We Became Aware – layout, design

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 104

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rheia (CD gatefold). Oathbreaker. Deathwish Inc. 2016. DW196.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Andy, O'Connor (October 4, 2016). "Oathbreaker: Rheia Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Oathbreaker releasing 'Rheia,' streaming "Needles In Your Skin"".
  4. ↑ Kennelty, Greg (September 27, 2016). "Oathbreaker Is Streaming Its Blast-Heavy, Shoegazey New Album Rheia". Metal Injection. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  5. ↑ Gotrich, Lars (August 17, 2016). "Songs We Love: Oathbreaker, '10:56 / Second Son of R.'". NPR. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  6. ↑ Kelly, Kim (September 26, 2016). "Oathbreaker's Game-Changing New Album, 'Rheia,' Will Rip Your Heart Out". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 "Unpredictable & Audacious: Our Interview With Oathbreaker". MUSIC&RIOTS Magazine. 2016-10-15. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  8. 1 2 3 Yanick, Joe (2016-12-12). "Oathbreaker Focus on the Pain, the Only Thing That's Real". CLRVYNT. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  9. 1 2 "Caro Tanghe and Gilles Demolder from Oathbreaker". Echoes And Dust. 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  10. 1 2 "Reviews for Rheia by Oathbreaker". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Walschots, Natalie Zina (September 28, 2016). "Oathbreaker: Rheia". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Conaton, Chris (October 19, 2016). "Oathbreaker: Rheia". PopMatters. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Jones, Tristan (October 2, 2016). "Review: Oathbreaker - Rheia". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  14. ↑ Treble Staff (December 7, 2016). "The Top 50 Albums of 2016". Treble. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  15. ↑ Barry, Sean; Hadusek, Jon (November 29, 2016). "The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  16. ↑ Whelan, Kez (December 8, 2016). "Albums Of The Year 2016". Terrorizer. Dark Arts Ltd. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  17. ↑ Noisey Staff (December 6, 2016). "The 100 Best Albums of 2016". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Oathbreaker – Rheia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
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