Oath to Vanquish Bio

" An Oath to Vanquish, a vow to obliterate any kind of obstructing defiance... " The band was formed in Nov. 2001. Their songs constitute a deadly response to insolence on all levels in a unique blend of brutal death, grind and black metal.

The founders of "Oath to Vanquish" had been key members of several bands at the forefront of the Lebanese metal scene since 1994, the most prominent however was "The Cimmerian Path", a black metal outfit formed in 1997. "The Cimmerian Path" played a major role in promoting and encouraging melodic epic black metal in the Lebanon and neighboring countries, in a region not accustomed to these sounds. In 1997 they produced their very first recording, a self-titled demo that featured two tracks: "The Eminence of Somber Divinity" and "Malignant Amour". Later in the summer of the same year the band broke all boundaries by performing live at the Beirut Rock Festival as an opening act for German Goth band, "The Dreadful Shadows". There they made their largest impact on a crowd of nearly 3000. Later the same year, their song "Malignant Amour" held the top spot in the MP3.com black metal charts and became a hit amongst the local fans. In 2001 "The Cimmerian Path" released their first and only self-produced album entitled "Into the Depths of Ruthless Excellence" that featured five tracks of epic black metal bound by grand emotions: "Summons upon Nightfall... the Unfettered Sorcerer", "Malignant Amour", "Repellent Empire Arid", "Entranced by the Edges of Angst" and "Into the Depths of Ruthless Excellence". "The Cimmerian Path" suffered a premature ending on their way to recording a second album and remained unsigned, but they do not fall short in achievements as they where the first to record and release a full extreme metal album in this part of the world, and thus paved the way for others to follow. They are now a classic amongst local and regional crowds. Their last live performance was at the Zenith club in Kaslik in the summer of 2001, an event that marked the band's peak. It was a most memorable and uplifting experience when the crowd sang the outro of "Malignant Amour" word for word, the last song of the last live performance, a moment that will be long remembered!

"Oath to Vanquish" performed their first gig live in February 2002 in Amman, the Jordanian capital. The event was a huge success and a whole new experience as it exposed the band to a new scene in a culture somewhat different from their own. The band where soon to return home and to meet the local audiences in Beirut and the lovely Cedars in 4 performances all in the summer of 2002, that once again gave OTV their deserved place at the forefront of the Lebanese metal scene.

The band then suffered a setback after the departure of the "Caveman" their almighty bassist to France, a hard ending to a laborious first year. OTV then set out to unearth a suitable replacement, which they found in prolific bass player Cyril. This discovery opened new doors and pushed the band one step further into completion of the album.