Das Oath

Das Oath have been controversially tearing up the hardcore scene for years, making themselves to the 'enfants terrible' of their own scene! The band's inception in 2000 started with the selfreleased first single on Youth Attack Records, Gloom Records and Coalition Records, who also recently released a discography CD of all their odd a impossible to find vinyl material up to their debut album. Das Oath have constantly been pushing their own boundaries and their vision on punk, by subverting their art through their record covers and layouts.

Das Oath are artists. Half the band originates from NY and the other half from The Netherlands, which should have made this band's existence impossible. Yet, Das Oath somehow is able to turn this culture clash into a creative group that constantly writes, records and tours the world with acts such as The Locust, The Dillinger Escape Plan, JR Ewing etc.

Das Oath's debut full length self titled album launches 15 songs upon the listener that hold a fine balance between classic hardcore, structurized arty noise and 70' punk rock. Mix the energy of The Germs, the progressive sound of earlier Killing Joke with the gritty noise overload of DC's Void with anthemic undertones ala Agnostic Front, Das Oath creates a sound that no other band comes up with in the world of loud music. They've not only fucked with punk's status quo artistically but have expanded and championed upon the very best of hardcore and punk.

"Shortly after the recording of the debut full length on Dimmak, Nate Wilson left the band and The Repos frontman Aaron Aspinwall joined Das Oath on bass, making the line up what Das Oath is today. With Aaron in the Das Oath ranks the band toured Europe and the USA and layed down songs in the studio for a new mini-album that will be released on Dimmak soon. The Das Oath saga continues!"

Dim Mak Releases:
DM068 Das Oath S/T CD / LP
DM089 Das Oath S/T "Mini LP" CD Street Date: February 21, 2006

Listen
Awesome Rape from "S/T"
You will Never Never Never Never Know Me from "Mini LP"

Press

HOLY CRAP!! 10 out of 10 from those vipers at Vice! Click the image to see the whole article.

"Make no mistake: This is a hardcore album. And those who like it loud, fast and screaming are in for a fifteen-minute treat." Click the logo to read the full article.

Here's a good review of the "Mini LP" from URB Magazine in April. Click the article to see a larger version.

Updated 06/07/05
PNK August 04
Review
Like most you, I have a sizable commute to and from the job. Like most of you, I zone out while driving, so I have a variety of sounds to keep me from using my vehicle as a battering ram. Pantera is always good, so is Slayer. On the way home I might throw in a little Iron Butterfly or some Ornette Coleman to cool off. Das Oath, for me, is a good morning commute CD. Angry, dissonant jams that hit hard enough without bludgeoning my dome. Driving down Adams Blvd in the Chocolate/Peanut Butter part of the city with brothers peeping me out over the jams blasting out of my ride around 8ish. The other CD's couldn't get past 6 on the volume, Das Oath didn't go below it.

Updated 06/07/05
Maximum RockNRoll Nov. 2004
Das Oath LP
It's not too late to climb aboard DAS OATH zeppelin. Thick, well produced, rock-tinged hard core from this "controversial" US/Dutch ubergroup. Go get this record and let them show you how it's done. Don't strain your eyes trying to read the white-ink-on-white-paper lyric sheet though. It's on Dim Mak, so they had to make it arty, right?

Updated 5/4/05
Chord October/November
Das Oath
Fans of The Oath, The Locust and Daughters take note
Words: Ray Harkins
When bands with a fair amount of street credibility are faced with the decision of whether to release a well-distributed, big-budget record or to remain at their current level, many opt for the larger label. When a band like Das Oath is faced with a decision like this, it may be a little harder, since most of their recorded songs last less then a minute and a half. Few bands make the crossover, but Das Oath seems to pull it off with no setbacks. Since Das Oath boasts members of well-known punk bands like Charles Bronson, Monster X and Devoid of Faith, one could expect the fast punk attack to be relentless, vicious and full of piss. All of these qualities are present and then some, and what you have in your hands is a fine release.

Updated 2/07/05
Under the Radar Summer 2004
Das Oath
S/T
Dim Mak
Ex & current members of Charles Bronson, Holy Molar, Mainstrike, Devoid of Faith and Oil have gotten together transnationally. Known for their banned controversial artwork and insane live shows, Das Oath has already started cult followings around the world.

Updated 2/7/05
Das Oath receives praise from Napalm Death

In a recent interview, Barney Greenway of Napalm Death listed Das Oath as one of his favorite bands...
"SMC: Since you guys are the leaders of your genre, do you see any bands that are out right now, who you feel have what it takes to match the longevity of your own career?
BARNEY: Nasum, I think they're the next or closest kinda band and there are other obscure bands. I heard this band called Das Oath, they're like traditional hardcore and with a Killing Joke kinda edge to them and really good productions, but really obscure..."

Updated 1/06/05
Voices Wake Us...
Words: Ben Parker
Das Oath LP (Dim Mak)
"I used to think that TOTAL FURY had the worst English pronunciation, but actually I think that honor belongs to Mark McCoy. If you can hold the insert in the right light so you can read the white on white lyrics (I photocopied mine from the CD), it is still almost impossible to follow along. Well, no matter: more clever wordplay like 'sediments of sediments' and 'deep frieze.' I have always found OATH lyrics to lash out at self-importance while recognizing the paradoz of using a rock band to be antying 'other' than self-important. I guess if you had already written ninety-five CHARLES BRONSON songs, you couldn't write another song about skate-boarding either. Since every effort seems to be made to obscure the lyrics, maybe you should take that as a hint? Go read a book!
When this record was going to come out, I was pretty uncertain about how 'punk' it would be, since I don't like the label they are on, I don't like the bands they tour with, they were on that QUEEN tribute on GSL, and a lot of the 'thrash' bands that were around in the US when they first came out have come and gone. So, what is to stop THE OATH from going the way of WRANGLER BRUTES or other quas

Updated 9/7/05
Skyscraper Fall 05
album review
...they structure an artsy combination of classic hardcore, gritty noise, and raw seventies punk. There self-titled debut full-length is a 15-track, 27-minute attack that lashes out at the listener with a hurricane of power chords, blast beats, and raspy screams. Their press release says that the band has artistically, "fucked with punk's status quo," while their website gives a tounge-in-cheek claim that Das Oath, "works like a musical razor blade...that still manages to kick the ass of every other sorry fast band today." Whatever they're doing, they're definitely not reinventing the hardcore wheel, but they're masters at taking it for a wild ride.

Updated 9/7/05
The Fader May/June 05
Album Review
This is the greatest hardcore album to come out in a long time. It's got mammoth riffs the size of Swedish alps, drums like a punch to someones face and vocals just slightly reminiscent of Charles Bronson (the band). Makes sense, since former CB frontman Marc McCoy sings for Das Oath. Killer.

Updated 8/10/05
Album Review
www.sctas.com
Click the link above to see the full article.

Updated 8/10/05
Zonked S/T Review
Debut album from this trans-Atlantic outfit, who unleashed wave after wave of blast force ferocious Hardcore fury, unrelenting and totally unapologetic for the destruction it leaves in its wake. Makes for an exhilarating ear-battering, with the 15 songs building up to closing twisted requiem "The Virtue of ElitIsm," a sentiment that many in the "Scene" circles would deny, but they totaly conform to-Self Righteous Fucking Hypocrites. Enthralling CD.

Updated 08/10/05
S/t review
Yeah, this stuff is really cool, hardcore metal punk, short songs, fast tempo, lets rock attitude. They sound a little like Agnostic front, don't know why I think that but, their hard fast, sceams of punk rock pleasure seem to take me back to a party where I was first introduced to them (via CD, not in person), it's good rock music to watch live, but not the best album for home consumption, though I have listened to it a few times after those late nights at the Nags ed, much to my girlfriends detriment. Keep an eye out if they are playing near you, though they just finished a UK tour, so maybe not.

Updated 08/10/05
Review
The formation of the band should,according the press release, have been impossible, due to the fact half of the band emanates frm New York while the other half comes from the Netherlands, but thankfully Das Oath are here. They are a band that takes hardcore and has fun with it. They sound like they are having a blast writing these songs as they are almost over as fast as it takes you to completely focus your attention on the music. While not quite the 30-second blasts from Napalm Death, there is a lot here to take on board with the tracks flying at a speed that just makes you want to trash your room. I'm sure the studio took a beating on tracks such as Awesome Rape where singer Mark McCoy must have really shredded his vocal chords. Occasionally for me, the spped of the songs can almost make them sound comic, but here there is a real sense of worth. The sound plays alot to the older school of hardcore with nods to bands such as Agnostic Front and The Germs. People complain today that there isn't enough originality in music, but while I agree music needs to progress, there's only a certain amount of progression that can be made over any time period. While there is always respect as bands attempt to embrace the new, you must also expect bands to work within genres and use their influences to create their own sound. Das Oath just writes some great fun and fast hardcore songs that will have you chomping at the bit to get into the pit.

]Updated 06/07/05
PNK August 04
Review
Like most you, I have a sizable commute to and from the job. Like most of you, I zone out while driving, so I have a variety of sounds to keep me from using my vehicle as a battering ram. Pantera is always good, so is Slayer. On the way home I might throw in a little Iron Butterfly or some Ornette Coleman to cool off. Das Oath, for me, is a good morning commute CD. Angry, dissonant jams that hit hard enough without bludgeoning my dome. Driving down Adams Blvd in the Chocolate/Peanut Butter part of the city with brothers peeping me out over the jams blasting out of my ride around 8ish. The other CD's couldn't get past 6 on the volume, Das Oath didn't go below it.

Updated 06/07/05
Maximum RockNRoll Nov. 2004
Das Oath LP
It's not too late to climb aboard DAS OATH zeppelin. Thick, well produced, rock-tinged hard core from this "controversial" US/Dutch ubergroup. Go get this record and let them show you how it's done. Don't strain your eyes trying to read the white-ink-on-white-paper lyric sheet though. It's on Dim Mak, so they had to make it arty, right?

Updated 5/4/05
Chord October/November
Das Oath
Fans of The Oath, The Locust and Daughters take note
Words: Ray Harkins
When bands with a fair amount of street credibility are faced with the decision of whether to release a well-distributed, big-budget record or to remain at their current level, many opt for the larger label. When a band like Das Oath is faced with a decision like this, it may be a little harder, since most of their recorded songs last less then a minute and a half. Few bands make the crossover, but Das Oath seems to pull it off with no setbacks. Since Das Oath boasts members of well-known punk bands like Charles Bronson, Monster X and Devoid of Faith, one could expect the fast punk attack to be relentless, vicious and full of piss. All of these qualities are present and then some, and what you have in your hands is a fine release.

Updated 2/07/05
Under the Radar Summer 2004
Das Oath
S/T
Dim Mak
Ex & current members of Charles Bronson, Holy Molar, Mainstrike, Devoid of Faith and Oil have gotten together transnationally. Known for their banned controversial artwork and insane live shows, Das Oath has already started cult followings around the world.

Updated 2/7/05
Das Oath receives praise from Napalm Death

In a recent interview, Barney Greenway of Napalm Death listed Das Oath as one of his favorite bands...
"SMC: Since you guys are the leaders of your genre, do you see any bands that are out right now, who you feel have what it takes to match the longevity of your own career?
BARNEY: Nasum, I think they're the next or closest kinda band and there are other obscure bands. I heard this band called Das Oath, they're like traditional hardcore and with a Killing Joke kinda edge to them and really good productions, but really obscure..."

Updated 1/06/05
Voices Wake Us...
Words: Ben Parker
Das Oath LP (Dim Mak)
"I used to think that TOTAL FURY had the worst English pronunciation, but actually I think that honor belongs to Mark McCoy. If you can hold the insert in the right light so you can read the white on white lyrics (I photocopied mine from the CD), it is still almost impossible to follow along. Well, no matter: more clever wordplay like 'sediments of sediments' and 'deep frieze.' I have always found OATH lyrics to lash out at self-importance while recognizing the paradoz of using a rock band to be antying 'other' than self-important. I guess if you had already written ninety-five CHARLES BRONSON songs, you couldn't write another song about skate-boarding either. Since every effort seems to be made to obscure the lyrics, maybe you should take that as a hint? Go read a book!
When this record was going to come out, I was pretty uncertain about how 'punk' it would be, since I don't like the label they are on, I don't like the bands they tour with, they were on that QUEEN tribute on GSL, and a lot of the 'thrash' bands that were around in the US when they first came out have come and gone. So, what is to stop THE OATH from going the way of WRANGLER BRUTES or other quasi-hardcore bands? You always think they might, but they never do! This is definitely a hardcore record, and it means so much more for being so because everyone would be fine if these guys stopped playing hardcore, and themselves have been in totally not-hardcore bands, so... get it? They must love this music, and it shows.
As an album, it is really short, but almost every song is memorable after a couple listens, and it has been one of my most-played LPs of the year. The production is very cheap but also very noisy and chaotic. The drummer, Marcel, hits HARD. The bass was a lot louder on the TOTAL FURY recording, but otherwise this recording is comparable to that. A few songs 'rock' in a way that is sort of like TEAR IT UP's last EP, and 'Awesome Rape' and 'Blood Oranges' is as good as anything on Hell Awaits.
The B-side is more of a monolith of noise, comparable to the 9", until the intro to 'Harmonized,' which is almost like a cell-phone ring. The album ends with a song very much akin to their first EP, followed by several minutes of guitar noise. Everything this band has done is near to my heart (except 'We are the Champions'), and seeing them live twice in November was really one of the best things to happen to me, but really this has some of their best songs, and will have you moshing in your room for sure. If you like VOID, Killed by Death, or the last DS 13 album, you need this."

Updated 12/19/04
The Big Cheese


Fear and Loathing


Mass Movement


Play Dead Magazine



Rancid


Ride Magazine



Updated 11/21/04
Decoymusic.com
Das Oath- Das Oath
words: Ian Judd
Rating: 4.5
"...This Das Oath is actually one of the most underrated bands in hardcore! They play a kind of early 90's thrashy hardcore sound that's really similar to their cohorts in Some Girls (no wonder they tour together), but mixed with the avant edge of Drive Like Jehu and the 'I don't give a fuck' attitude of bands like The Germs and Born Against. The result is marvelous on this 15 track wonder. There are no stops to this album, just 15 bullet chains strapped around your lankey, Bones-Brigade shirt wearing, 'Up The Punx" tattoo bearing self, getting shot off into a busy street..."
http://www.decoymusic.com/reviewscontent.php?review=1372
Click on the link above to see the full article.


Updated 10/25/04
Scannerzine

"Das Oath are a fiery, hyper-blast of Hardcore 4-piece with a geographical problem. The band has just released its debut album on Dim Mak Records. I was impressed, greatly in fact, so got together a bunch of questions for this email interview. The response from vocalist Mark was, well... half-hearted. This appears as I received it, bar a few inserted comments from myself. I hope you enjoy reading it more than Mark did in answering it..."
http://www.scannerzine.com/dasoath.htm
Click the link above to see the full article.

Das Oath- s/t
"Now this is Hardcore as it should be played- fast, aggressive, inventive, captivatin and with a complete disregard for anything bar the band's own vision. These guys have a decent pedigree too having members formally in Charles Bronson, Devoid of Faith and Oil. You get 16 tracks that fly past in 27 minutes combining the feel and urgency of early Dischord releases with the musical muscle of Black Flag and the light speed ferocity of either Los Crudos or DS-13. Highlights are many- take your pick from such screaming denotations of snotty HC as opener 'The Kult Starts (Some W)Here', 'Leaning Tower of Pisa Crap' or 'Blood Oranges' through to slashing, nihilistic hyperblasts such as closer 'The Virtue of Elitism', 'A Biggot Is A Spic' or the 33-seconds of fury that make up 'Disney Surgery'. I'm convinces you won't hear a better Hardcore record all year."

Updated 10/06/04
Terrorizer!



Updated 09/19/04
Breaking Faces

US/Dutch Choasmongers Fight for the Right Not to Party

"Bullshit cues for crowd participation and happy, good times. That's the last thing I fucking want"


Assorted Das Oath Reviews
Big Cheese
Zero Tolerance
Metal Hammer



Updated 09/07/04
No Front Teeth Zine

Das Oath- self-titled
words: Marco
"Last year Das Oath impressed me so much. They stand above all other bands in this genre. Das Oath do not fuck around. Das Oath is pure force and aggression and I cannot think of any other bands that can compare that power. They manage to play at a mind-blowing speed but still retain subtlety and intricacy in their playing. Their song titles are fantastic: 'Great News From the South Pole', 'Awesome Rape', 'Oh Gruesome Lunar Cycle', 'Disney Surgery' and the list goes on. The artwork is great, the style of the CD bookley is great. There's no one like Das Oath."

Updated 09/02/04
IndieWorkshop.com

Das Oath- self titled

"Put this CD in your player and prepare to recoil from a swift, sneaky kick to the groin. A skinny figure clad in fashionable black has brandished his boot and now hurls frothy epithets and manifestos at you. Guitars buzz about with agendas and disregard for structural conventions. A nimble and punishing drummer alternates fluidly between thrash beats and “Wipe Out!” tom rolls and keeps songs from the brink of chaos. They are pissed off and completely kicking the shit out of their songs..."

http://indieworkshop.com/reviews/1069
Click the link above to see the full article.

LostAtSea.net
Das Oath- self titled

"Escape now, while you still can. Das Oath is on a rampage and it seems there’s no way to kill these terrifying hardcore monsters. Bullets just bounce off their careening guitars and the thick cartilage of their bass. Like the mythological Furies, Das Oath’s whirlwind drums descend upon a punk scene, rife with corruption to avenge crimes against the genre. Clap your hands over your ears so the screaming, vocal birds-of-prey don’t pierce your eardrums. Run like hell for shelter; you don’t want to get in their way..."

http://www.lostatsea.net/LAS/
Click the link above to see the full article.


Updated 08/25/04
Rock Sound

Das Oath- self titled
words: Noel F. Gardner

"Later this year, Das Oath are apparently set to be remixed by alt.country icon Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo. Quite what he's going to pull from this smoking wreck of a hardcore opus boggles the mind. On the strength of Das Oath's debut album you wouldn't put anything past them, though. The sheer energy harnessed by these four men (two from NYC, two from Holland, and boasting a drool-worthy CV of previous bands) is astonishing. Songs bleed into each other without the players missing a beat and finish, usually inside 90 seconds, before you've started to get to grips with the demented chaos. Taking the free-for-all splatter of the first few Dischord Records bands (their logo cheekily rips off DC mentalists Void), the hyperactive thrash of Negative Approach and the angular screamo pioneers like Mohinder and Angel Hair, Das Oath encapsulate pretty much everything ace about intelligent hardcore punk rock. They have great titles like 'Nobody's Married Me In Years' and 'The Pagan Winter Sale'; they're clearly very good musicians but don't show off; and they're in the UK at the end of this month. If this is what they're like in digitally encoded form, glorious live carnage seems inevitable."



Kerrang!

Das Oath- Self Titled
Transatlantic Ragers Break The Speed Barrier
words: Mark Greenway

"THE LOWDOWN: When practically anything is described as hardcore nowadays, what joy when a band like Das Oath steamrollers the pretenders into a pancake-thin mess. 'Progressive' is a label you could lay on this NY/Netherlands combo. But what prevents them from being flock-followers is that they crank the BPM to velocities that recall such memorable fast hardcore names as Siege and Negative Approach. Makes the Dillinger Escape Plan sound like Creed. Hugely intense.
DOWNLOAD: 'Awesome Rape'
RATING: five K!'s"


Updated 08/15/04
Village Voice
Murderous Punk Albums Share Plenty With Each Other and Nobody Else
words: scott seward

". . .half-Dutch/half-Yank Das Oath's glorious combo of mosh-worthy breakdowns, drum pummeling, and screamo yowling with hardcore's brute force is invigorating and corrosive enough to hypothetically inspire murder with bare hands. But in a good way."


http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0431/seward.php
Click the link above to see the full article.

Updated 08/10/04
Dusted Magazine
"Das Oath have been controversially tearing up the hardcore scene since 2000, when they released their first single on Youth Attack Records. There’s been more vinyl since, and it’s said to be compiled on a CD on Coalition Records called Über Alles Collection. Half the band lives in New York, while the other half enjoy the Netherlands, so touring isn’t an easy thing, but they have managed to share stages with Locust, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Breaker!Breaker! The band’s first full-length hits the streets on August 24 on Dim Mak Records. More frightening than most hardcore, too spastic for most metalheads, it will be interesting to see what becomes of Das Oath. . . "


http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/278e
Click the link above to see the full article.


Updated 08/10/04
Arc Magazine #2
Mike Shepherd

Das Oath - [Self-Titled]
(CD, Dim Mak Records)

What? Did you say you want Hardcore? Did you mean fucking HARD CORE? You and your sweaty friends, one arm over your neighbor's shoulder, the other pointed at the ceiling and ending in a fist? Lyrics you can shout at the top of your lungs and still not be heard over the guitar? Das Oath has what you're looking for. This transatlantic quartet (half New Yorker, half Netherlander) takes no prisoners with their debut long-player. All blast-beats, power chords, and pinch harmonics, the album is a non-stop blast—taking only one much deserved breather on "Nobody's Married in Years," the album's only hint that these boys' artistic side. Of course, a person can only take so much unrelenting ass-kicking, and after about 20 minutes, the songs start to run together. Luckily, by then the records over and you're catching your breath outside.

Updated 07/16/04

heartattack

In the autumn of 2003, I got the opportunity to hang out with the four individuals that operate collectively under the name Das Oath for a couple of weeks. A somewhat unusual formation, if only because half of the band lives in the USA and the other half tries to keep their feet dry in the low lands at the North Sea shore. With very different backgrounds and interests music-wise, hardcore-wise and otherwise together they question hardcore's pretensions. They did so over the course of 5 years, touring from Scandinavia to Japan and from the Mid-West to Catalonia. They left us three records so far and recorded a new album, which for the first time will not be released through their own labels. Here is what two of Das Oath's members had to say to my questions, on the brink of a new episode in Das Oath's history- Interview by Pytrik Schafraad...

HaC: How much of a change is it for you guys to be on a kinda big indie label that Dim Mak is? Does being on Dim Mak mean that you have other commitments. I mean before you seemed to take things as they come. And not really make long-term plans. Did that change? I guess Steve expects you guys to tour a lot to promote the album and stuff like that?
Jeroen: Steve from Dim Mak is a cool cat, so nothing really changed at all. The reason why we wanted to do a record with his label is because we know him for a long time and he always supported us. Since we sold our souls to him, we haven't really been doing a lot of touring, but we're kinda waiting till the record comes out before starting to disappoint people with our live performances again. You are right, we used to take things as they come. Dim Mak changed a lot in that sense, we now take things as they come...

 

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