When I was in my more formative years as a metalhead, my friend and I would joke about completely over-the-top band names. Goatwhore was always one of the most often-cited band names. It took quite awhile before I actually checked out the band though. The name was a joke and that was all there was to it. Man, I was missing out. I finally checked out Goatwhore soon after moving to start my first job. That was A Haunting Curse and I have never looked back. Goatwhore quickly became one of my favorite bands. I even have a t-shirt that I wear despite the inappropriate name.That brings us to last week when their latest album was released. Like a good Goatwhore fan, I picked up the album immediately. And I was absolutely blown away. This is a crushing and blistering album of balls-to-the-wall sludgy blackened death metal. Goatwhore has a unique sound that combines the sound of fellow Louisiana bands like Crowbar and Acid Bath with blackened death metal. Which makes sense given that Sammy Duet was in both Crowbar and Acid Bath. The result is a maelstrom of angry vocals and mammoth riffs. Goatwhore is extremely heavy.
The band experimented early on in their career with clean vocals. Those have long since disappeared with the band streamlining their sound. The songs are all blindingly fast and extremely intense. This is not an album for the weak of heart.
Once again, Goatwhore has put out an impressive release. This will definitely be a contender for Album of the Year this year.
I haven't listened to this whole album yet, but track I heard sounded pretty good. I'm not the biggest Goatwhore fan, but I can certainly understand the appeal.
ReplyDeleteTheir name is hilariously over-the-top. I don't think you're the only one who thought it was a joke . . . I think it's a little tongue-in-cheek even to the band.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I've pretty much avoided them due to their previous album title. I have enough to listen to that I don't need to squeeze this one in. I usually have a playlist of 100 songs or so that are on albums that I consider new to me, i.e., I haven't finished writing a review for it or I just want to keep it on heavy rotation for a bit. But just yesterday it topped 200 with all the promos I've been getting. And I kind of like all the stuff I wouldn't normally check out, like Murw and Lurk.
Speaking of promo overload, I have another idea. Instead of joining my blog as a team member, would either of you be interested in being forwarded a promo? That way, you could write a review or other article for my blog without the commitment of switching blogs. I would ask you if you were interested in a particular album, and if you are, I'd send you the download link instead of downloading it myself. You'd have to send me a review to be used on my blog, and I'd want you to assign it a score using my 5 point scale, but you could post it on your own blog as well. You would get a free promo, and I would link you at the beginning of the post to identify it as a different author. I don't have any waiting in the wings just yet, but the next time someone contacts me, I could ask one of you before getting it myself.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I'd be interested in helping you out. I know I have a bit of a backlog myself that I will be cutting down probably next week, but I will take a listen to anything you want to pass off.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I'll send something your way when I get it. They tend to come in waves. It may have just been a fluke that I was getting overloaded, getting three from one label, four from another, four from a promoter, and almost as many directly from bands, but I do tend to get them on a fairly regular basis.
ReplyDelete