The aura of Extreme Metal is vast, vile and unfathomable. It expands its brutal imagery and abrasive style into many of its subgenres, each having prominent bands of its own. However, the city of New Orleans in 1997 witnessed the unholy birth of a band that truly captures this aura. They have been delivering this relentlessly across all of their six studio albums, and they aren’t doing any less today. Goatwhore has returned, and have outdone themselves in their seventh spite and venom-filled studio album, ‘Vengeful Ascension’, which is bound to smack you in the face with a chainsaw.
Goatwhore requires no formal introduction. Ever since the release of their demo ‘Serenades to the Tides of Blood’ (1998), the band has become synonymous with a shocking sound, Satanic lyricism, crushing fast-paced instrumentals, and an overall ‘our statement shall be made’ attitude. Quoting the band’s frontman Ben Falgoust, “the album is raw, organic (this being their second album recorded all analogue) and captures the essence of a live Goatwhore performance.” The band worked with their soundman Jarrett Pritchard for this record, breaking a four-album tradition with Erik Rutan. Falgoust here claims that Pritchard is entirely knowledgeable on how the band sounds live, and hence is the only person capable of putting that onto the record, truly understanding the band’s vision.
[metalwani_content_ad]
Lyrically, Falgoust and Guitarist/Vocalist Sammy Duet growl and shriek the story of the fall and rise of Lucifer – how he is a guiding light instead of the usual stereotype of a freaky sin-inducing demon king, and how it’s a theme of struggle applied metaphorically to the lives of people who have reached their lowest low, only to witness the ‘Vengeful Ascension’ that awaits them. The lyrics also point out the emotional aspect of the human condition, wherein the intensity of the emotions felt by person who has hit rock bottom is what drives them towards their actions.
Instrumentally, the album picks up where 2014’s ‘Constricting Rage of the Merciless’ left off, and is 666% Goatwhore. It doesn’t entirely skew away from it’s predecessors, but actually stands as a proud representative of all, taking bits and pieces from each and every one of them. The journey starts off the track “Forsaken” – a thunderous drum roll by Zack Simmons kicks in followed by a mortar riff attack executed perfectly by Duet and bassman James Harvey. “Under the Flesh, Into the Soul” brings back the classic, headbang-demanding sound of the band with Deut pulling off a sweet bendy solo halfway through the track that’ll get every fan to pull off a guitar face.
I must however point out that the black metal influences in this record are far more prominent than any other, as structurally the album slowly introduces more vile elements from the genre as each song passes, making Abbath prouder by each progression. Distorted ambient chords, tremolo picking, blast beats, shrieks heard in the Scandinavian winter (across the Atlantic ocean, for the glory of Satan of course) – it’s a yes to all of those. The title track sends an eerie chill down the spine during the verses, but quickly turns into a neck-breaking work of art, courtesy Duet’s riffwork.
“Where the Sun is Silent” follows the same structure, but following it is “Drowned in Grim Rebirth” – a perfectly mixed concoction, best suited as the background track for the end of the world. “Mankind will Have No Mercy” turns the groove around, bringing in a hint of thrash speediness. The ten-track album concludes with “Those Who Denied God’s Will”, a track so richly atmospheric and intense in its execution that it’s bound to raise hairs. It acts as the perfect finale to the entire album’s experience, right before you hit the repeat button one more time and the chainsaw starts up again.
‘Vengeful Ascension’ is another perfectly-sculpted Goatwhore masterpiece of raw aggressiveness and the band’s classic instrumentals, while at the same time proving that they are indeed “Trve Kvlt”. The album will appeal to many of those true to Black Metal and leave the fans of the band content with its explosive return, for Goatwhore has once again delivered what they aimed for, brutally. ‘Vengeful Ascension’ is out via Metal Blade records, June 2017.