Seattle’s emotional metalcore powerhouse continues its rise with a debut album packed with heart, hope, and heavyweight riffs
If you’ve ever found yourself staring out of a rain-soaked window wondering why life insists on throwing curveballs faster than a Slipknot pit opens, then Seattle’s Oathbound might just have the soundtrack you’ve been searching for.
Blending soaring melodies, crushing progressive metalcore riffs, cinematic synths, and lyrics that hit harder than a steel-capped boot to the feelings, Oathbound have built a reputation for turning life’s darkest moments into powerful anthems of resilience.
Their debut full-length album, Colors In Grey, released via Eclipse Records on March 6th 2026, sees the band take everything that made their debut EP special and crank it up several notches.
And honestly? It’s a proper beast.
🌧️ Born In The Rain, Forged In Adversity
Seattle has produced some legendary heavy music over the decades, and Oathbound are carrying that tradition forward while carving out a sound entirely their own.
The current lineup consists of:
🎤 CJ Brunke – Vocals
🎸 Taylor Harper – Guitar
🎸 Viktor Schultz – Guitar
🎸 Steve Schwarz – Bass
🥁 Travis Morlan – Drums
What makes Oathbound stand apart from countless other metalcore bands isn’t just technical ability or modern production.
It’s authenticity.
Every lyric, every melody, every breakdown feels like it comes from somewhere real.
Heartbreak.
Addiction.
Loss.
Trauma.
Depression.
Self-doubt.
Nothing is sugar-coated.
Instead, Oathbound confront these subjects head-on while delivering a message that’s increasingly rare in heavy music:
There is always a reason to keep going.
That’s a message plenty of people need right now.
🎸 From Civil Engineering To Metalcore Engineering
The band’s story begins with guitarist Taylor Harper, whose journey into Oathbound sounds almost like a film script.
By day, Harper was a successful civil engineer.
By night, however, there was a growing feeling that something was missing.
After years spent climbing the corporate ladder, he realised the destination wasn’t making him happy. The passion he’d once had for music had quietly disappeared beneath deadlines, meetings and spreadsheets.
Rather than accepting that fate, Harper picked up his guitar again and started writing.
Those early ideas would eventually become the foundations of Oathbound.
Soon after, he connected with guitarist Viktor Schultz, a musician whose own journey had taken him from California to Russia before eventually returning to America in 2022.
The pair instantly clicked creatively.
Sometimes bands spend years trying to find chemistry.
For Harper and Schultz, it happened almost immediately.
And suddenly Oathbound had its core.
🤝 The Internet Actually Did Something Useful
Believe it or not, social media occasionally produces something other than arguments and cat videos.
The band’s original vocalist Kalyan Lopez joined after responding to one of Harper’s posts in a Seattle musicians Facebook group.
Lopez would go on to write the lyrics for Oathbound’s first song, “All For You”, a track that helped establish the emotional DNA that still runs through the band today.
Original drummer Rishab Thadani also arrived through online connections.
Fresh from relocating to Seattle from Dallas, he met the band in Harper’s garage and quickly became a key component of Oathbound’s progressive sound.
Like many great rock and metal stories, it all started in a garage.
Some things never change.
🔥 A New Era Begins
As Oathbound continued growing, major changes arrived in 2025.
Founding bassist John Padgett stepped away from the band, creating an opportunity for Steve Schwarz to join the fold.
Schwarz immediately brought fresh energy, groove and stage presence to the band’s evolving sound.
But the biggest change arrived shortly afterwards.
In January 2025, CJ Brunke stepped into the vocalist role.
And what a move that turned out to be.
Brunke is a classically trained vocalist and respected vocal coach whose range gives Oathbound an entirely new dimension.
One moment she’s delivering soaring melodic passages filled with emotion.
The next she’s unleashing earth-shaking screams capable of rattling venue foundations.
It’s an absolutely lethal combination.
The kind that can elevate a good band into something truly memorable.
🥁 Enter Travis Morlan
Change wasn’t finished yet.
When drummer Rishab Thadani announced his return to Texas, Oathbound faced another major challenge.
Replacing a drummer in a progressive metal band is no easy task.
Fortunately, they already knew exactly who they wanted.
Travis Morlan, who had previously filled in during a western U.S. tour, stepped into the role full-time.
Hailing from Portland and already well-known within the local metal community through his work with Drift Away and various other projects, Morlan brought explosive energy behind the kit.
His drumming style is aggressive, technical and relentless.
Exactly what Oathbound needed.
The result is a lineup that feels stronger and more focused than ever.
🚀 Building Momentum With Until It’s Gone
Before Colors In Grey arrived, Oathbound had already started making serious waves with their debut EP.
Released on September 13th 2024, Until It’s Gone quickly found an audience.
Fans connected with both the music and the message.
The EP has since amassed nearly 400,000 Spotify streams, helping establish Oathbound as one of the most exciting emerging names in modern metalcore.
Not bad for a band that started with a guitar, a garage and a dream.
🎨 The Arrival Of Colors In Grey
Now comes the next chapter.
And it’s a massive one.
Released through Eclipse Records, Colors In Grey showcases a band fully embracing their identity.
The album explores themes of mental health, resilience, personal growth and self-discovery while delivering the biggest and most ambitious songs Oathbound have written to date.
Track Listing
🎵 Origins
🎵 Colors In Grey
🎵 Set Adrift
🎵 Misunderstood
🎵 The Masks We Wear
🎵 Insomniac
🎵 Searching For An Answer
🎵 Hold On
🎵 False Ideals
Across nine tracks, the album balances technical precision with genuine emotional weight.
It’s progressive.
It’s melodic.
It’s crushingly heavy.
But most importantly, it’s honest.
And in 2026, honesty can sometimes be the heaviest thing of all.
🤘 Why Oathbound Deserve Your Attention
The metalcore scene is packed with bands trying to be heavier, faster or more technical than everybody else.
Oathbound are doing something different.
They’re creating connection.
Their music reminds listeners that they’re not alone.
That struggling doesn’t make you weak.
That asking for help isn’t failure.
That surviving another day is sometimes the biggest victory of all.
Wrapped inside huge choruses, crushing breakdowns and progressive musicianship, those messages become even more powerful.
It’s heavy music with a purpose.
And there’s something incredibly refreshing about that.
🔮 What’s Next?
With Colors In Grey now unleashed upon the world, Oathbound are continuing to build momentum through live performances across the western United States while expanding their rapidly growing fanbase.
If the response to both the album and their previous releases is anything to go by, it won’t be long before the rest of the metal world catches up.
Seattle’s newest emotional metalcore force is only getting started.
And if Colors In Grey is any indication, their future looks anything but grey.
🔥 RIFF REPORT VERDICT
A powerful blend of emotion, technical precision and crushing metalcore energy. Oathbound aren’t just writing songs — they’re creating lifelines for people fighting their own battles.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5
For fans of: Spiritbox, Architects, Wage War, Currents, Polaris and emotionally charged modern metalcore.
Stay loud. Stay proud. And remember, butt — even the darkest clouds eventually break. 🤘🔥
