Introspective lyrics collide with an aggressive fast tempo to create The Oathbreakers, a San Diego based group with Southwestern College ties.
Jahaziel Valencia went to a performance by popular thrash-metal band The Oathbreakers to take pictures.
Less than two weeks later he was their bassist.
His first show at the House of Blues was both terrifying and wondrous.
He found himself performing in a venue where Tyler the Creator, Veil of Maya, and Attila have gone before.
“That feeling of being on the same stage as a legend was something I’d never experienced,” he said.
Singer/Guitarist Brandon Gonzalez and drummer Jakob McCullock were bond together by a band t-shirt, Slayer or Led Zeppelin (Gonzalez confessed he could not recall if it was).
Gonzalez stormed over to McCullock,
“Hey man, you like metal music?”
He did.
“We’ve been friends ever since,” McCullock said. “I think it was inevitable that we would eventually begin a band.”
The Oathbreakers found lead guitarist Saul Ramos in a similar fashion. He yelled into the void
of Instagram in hopes of finding a band to join after watching “The Dirt,” a 2019 biopic
about hair-metal band Mötley Crüe.
Gonzalez responded. From the first rehearsal the vibe felt right, he said.
Ramos agreed.
“We met up and jammed to a few of their songs,” he said.
McCullock said he felt the same.
“From there it immediately clicked for us,” he said.
Nerves were jangling the day of their big show at House of Blues. McCullock was tapping the band’s songs on his legs backstage as anxiety built. A quick backstage warm up got them focused and the quartet commanded the old wooden floor boards of the stage before a delirious crowd.
Headbanging audience expressed approval in rowdy mosh pits while the drums thundered and the guitars throbbed.
McCullock said the enthusiasm was contagious.
“We all get this energy on stage when the adrenaline kicks in, especially when we can tell the crowd is enjoying our music,” he said. “It all comes out naturally.”
Proto-rock stars at the House of Blues by night, Ramos and Valencia are students at Southwestern College by day. Ramos said he applies the knowledge he has picked up as a business administration and music production major to further the band’s career.
Valencia is working toward a journalism degree, he said, and intends to bring journalism’s ethical practices to the video game industry.
Each member’s style and technique bleeds into the songs they create together. Influences include Metallica, Slayer, Trivium, Post Malone, Deftones, Joji and Juice WRLD, Gonzales said.
It is non-metal influences to make their sound stand out, he said.
One stated goal of the band members is to help people understand metal and not shy away from it. A hint of melodic pop seeps in, inviting listeners to connect with The Oathbreakers’ music and vibe with the band.
Humor is another ingredient. At the heart of The Oathbreakers lives an amplified comedy troupe. Its current single, “Cilantro,” was inspired by the 2019 Storm Area 51 meme, a Facebook joke gone wrong that sent thousands to the Nevada desert in search of space aliens.
Members’ sense of humor crackled during an interview with The Sun. When reporters spoke with three of the four band members—Valencia unable to tag along the first time—the trio pretended he was in the room part of the conversation.
Gonzalez said he wants to explore beyond songs like “Cilantro” and write deeper music. Each can play the others instruments, which makes them able to teach one another new parts and collaborate musically. Words are another matter, Gonzales said.
“Typically I enjoy more serious lyrics,” he said. “It feels more real and true to itself.”
Introspective and self-observing themes come from their own thoughts and insecurities, Gonzales said. Anxiety, isolation and other issues of today’s society sprinkle their prose.
“Metal isn’t evil,” Gonzalez said. “Don’t be afraid of it because it’s heavier. That’s what makes it fun.”
