On The Radar: Oathbound, Pacific Northwest Progressive Metalcore

“We don’t hide in the green room. We hang out and talk and watch the other bands, so come say hi.” That right there tells you everything you need to know about Oathbound. Split between Seattle and Portland, this Pacific Northwest four-piece have been turning heads with their debut LP Colors in Grey, a self-produced record that weaves crushing heaviness with atmospheric, ethereal melody. Mixed and mastered by Aaron Chaparian (As I Lay Dying, Bleeding Through) at Iron Audio, the album is an intense exploration of the emotions we all carry but rarely talk about: hopelessness, anger, inadequacy, self-doubt. We reviewed the album here at RAMzine and called it “prog metalcore done right.” Now, with new music already in the works and touring firmly in their sights, we sat down with Oathbound to find out more.

Who are you and where are you from?

We are Oathbound and we’re from the Pacific Northwest of the United States. We are split between Seattle and Portland.

How did the band form?

The story of Oathbound began in 2023 with one of our guitarists, Taylor Harper, who began composing the early blueprints for what would eventually become Oathbound. Seeking a collaborator, Harper reached out to Viktor Schultz, who he knew through a family friend. When Harper and Schultz connected over the early demos, the creative chemistry was immediate. The remainder of the original lineup was formed largely from serendipitous circumstances through online musician groups. That original lineup recorded the debut EP Until it’s Gone.

How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you?

Oathbound‘s music gravitates somewhere within the general vicinity of metalcore and takes pages from many different sub-genres, including progressive metalcore and melodic metalcore. Anthemic synths are layered into a lot of the music to round out the sonic sphere.

What bands have shaped what you do?

That’s a really hard question to answer definitively, since the members of Oathbound have very broad taste. As far as metal bands go though, definitely August Burns Red, Metallica, In Flames and As I Lay Dying top the list of musical inspiration.

What’s the one song of yours people should hear first?

The song that seemed to land us on a lot of people’s radar was ‘Anxiety’ from our first EP, but a close second would be ‘False Ideals’ from our most recent album. Those songs do a pretty good job of summarising our essence.

Tell us a story about your band?

We were on tour one time and a rabbit ran out in front of the van. There wasn’t enough time to stop or otherwise avoid the rabbit, so unfortunately, the rabbit was killed. We pulled over at a truck stop a few hours later and investigated the damage and discovered that the rabbit had actually blown through the plastic bumper and gotten lodged inside. There was no access to be able to get the carcass out so we had to modify a pair of BBQ tongs and had to fish it out through the hole it left, one small piece at a time. It was fairly horrific and we felt awful about the whole thing.

What’s been your best gig so far?

The last time we played Portland, we sold out the venue, which was a first for us. The crowd was electric and, for once, we didn’t have any technical issues with a single piece of our gear. The combination of all of those things was an amazing feeling.

What’s the music scene like where you’re based?

Seattle and Portland are sister cities due to how relatively close they are. There’s a ton of overlap between our two scenes, which is partly how Oathbound came to be spread across both of them. Heavy music, whether it’s deathcore or hardcore or metalcore, is pretty popular and there’s great local support from both individuals and venues. The only real downside to being in the Pacific Northwest is that it makes for some long drives when you start tours from home.

Tell us the story behind one of your band’s tracks?

The song ‘Colors in Grey’ was originally combined with the prologue track ‘Origins’ into one singular song. It was split into two separate tracks after it was mixed and mastered because we thought it would be cool to do an old-school melodic, instrumental track.

Tell us about your new album?

Our latest album Colors in Grey deals with a lot of emotions that I think almost everyone can relate to: hopelessness, anger, inadequacy, self-doubt. It weaves heaviness with atmospheric and ethereal melodies to represent both the anger and sadness we all experience as we navigate the world. It was self-produced and mixed and mastered by Aaron Chaparian (As I Lay Dying, Bleeding Through) at Iron Audio. We’re thrilled with how it came out!

What’s next for you?

The main goal is to tour as much as possible to support the album and see more of the world and meet new, awesome people in new, awesome places. We are in the middle of writing and recording our follow up album which we hope to release early next year.

Where can people find you?

We have a pretty consistent presence on all the regular social media platforms, but we are best at keeping our Instagram (@oathboundband) up to date. Our website is the best place to stay current with what we’ve got going on: www.oathboundband.com

Anything else you want people to know?

If you’ve listened to the album, thank you so much for giving it a chance. We’re proud of how it turned out and can’t wait to share with everyone the new music we are working on! We hope to see you at a show! We don’t hide in the green room. We hang out and talk and watch the other bands, so come say hi!