{"id":12657,"date":"2013-06-25T00:00:08","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T00:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=12657"},"modified":"2013-07-20T11:44:20","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T11:44:20","slug":"album-review-goatess-goatess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-goatess-goatess\/","title":{"rendered":"GOATESS – Goatess (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

GOATESS
Goatess<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSvart (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I always thought that doom metal lords Count Raven were one of the genre\u2019s most underrated bands. Maybe it was due to the fact that albums such as Storm Warning<\/em> (1990) just reeked too much of Black Sabbath<\/a>, but they were still enjoyable records. And so, it\u2019s great to see Goatess emerge from the shadows, and feature none other than ex-Count Raven frontman Christian \u201cChritus\u201d Linderson.<\/p>\n

Linderson has certainly been busy over the years, fronting doom legends Saint Vitus as well as Lord Vicar, but with the doom metal scene thriving I guess now was the time for Chritus and company to find their own niche among the dreary hordes.<\/p>\n

Goatess are very much a Swedish band, rising out of Stockholm, and the sound they make will be something new yet sweetly evil to the ears of doom metal fans. For those of you rather numbed by the overly long compositions being churned out over the last few years by numerous stoner bands, Goatess offer something slightly different, especially in those buzzing, psyched out riffs and sinister drum plods.<\/p>\n

Fans of the recent Victor Griffin\u2019s In-Graved<\/a> and The Hounds Of Hasselvander records will find themselves drowning in the 70s-inspired swirls of album opener \u2018Know Your Animal\u2019, which creeps along like something off a Ghost opus, while \u2018Alpha Omega\u2019 is a churning serpent of a track that heaves itself skywards on a fuzzy doom-laden riff and prehistoric drum plod. Chritus\u2019 vocals are nothing spectacular. but he\u2019s very much from that old school of doom rock; his whines squirming out from his blackened soul.<\/p>\n

The album may only boast eight tracks, but each one is a creaking monolith that weighs an absolute ton. \u2018Ripe\u2019 keeps the ears ringing long after it has bedded itself down in its foetid pit, and Chritus\u2019 cries are mournful as the oozing guitar fluffs up the ears. But the album\u2019s pivotal track is the jaunty \u2018Full Moon At Noon\u2019, which is brisk in its drum and infectious with its rhythm. Again the guitar is an accessible buzz until the track takes a timely breather, evoking images of 70s psychedelia and lava lamp blues.<\/p>\n

The band also displays a sense of sensitivity with the atmospheric \u2018Oracle Part 1: The Mist\u2019; Chritus\u2019 vocals are more of a distant echo over the tinkling guitars and sporadic drums. But the second instalment of \u2018Oracle…\u2019 is a different affair completely, as it rises from the speakers like a grey wave, turning, churning as the bass prods deep and drum slows to an elephantine march.<\/p>\n

This is how doom should sound, reminding me to quote the band\u2019s website, which states: \u201cEvil should not sound this good\u201d<\/em>. But clearly Goatess have found a niche, bridging the gap between oaken doom metal from the late 70s and early 80s and today\u2019s occult rock influences. The mighty 11-minute \u2018King One\u2019 is a prime example of such mischievous melancholy, as well as 12-minute album closer \u2018Tentacle Of Zen\u2019, which somehow injects Eastern mysticism into its dark heart.<\/p>\n

Nothing beats a bit of authentic doom metal, especially when it\u2019s heavy, but not for the sake of it. There\u2019s something natural and free about Goatess, even as they spin their wicked web and entice us with that hypnotic buzz.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GOATESSGoatess Svart (2013)Rating: 8\/10 I always thought that doom metal lords Count Raven were one of the genre\u2019s most underrated bands. Maybe it was due to the fact that albums such as Storm Warning (1990) just reeked too much of Black Sabbath, but they were still enjoyable records. And so, it\u2019s great to see Goatess […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,614],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-goatess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12657"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13083,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12657\/revisions\/13083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}