Goat Prayers is a timeless band. They’ve been around since the early 90’s, they changed their name and sound. The band faced a harsh underground and has been leading the way since the demo tape and its split with Dethroned Christ “We Are the Fist in the Face of God”, as well as the split “Transcending Dark Ages” with Lost Graveyard.
It was after the end of a long hibernation that we were able to talk to the Goat Prayers which has recently been linked to the infamous cast of Hammer Of Damnation. Long live Goat Prayers!
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The year of 2018 was dated by the return of Goat Prayers to the stage (opening of the Master’s Hammer show) after a 15-year hiatus without performing live… You, Iconoclastal Daemonium as the only original member, tell us how did this comeback happen and what was it like to get a new lineup and the memories present in this show?
First I would like to thank you for the invitation. The return of Goat Prayers was already underway with some compositions already done, but it would be a studio band with no intentions of playing live, with me and Death Hate only in the band. The return to the stage was solely due to Luiz’s recommendation and his invitation to open the Master’s Hammer show, which by the way was an honor. To perform this presentation we called Marcos from Speed Metal Hell and Nephilim from Primordial Idol, as Marcos already knew the songs well and Nephilim already played with me and Death Hate on Primordial Idol was a very easy decision. When we started rehearsing all that 90’s atmosphere came to light, it was exciting!
Still on the issue of hiatus, we know that during this period the members of the last formation in the early 2000s joined some representative bands that still exist today, such as Primordial Idol and Lost Graveyard… I think it was because Goat’s hibernation…the members decided to join forces on other projects?
It was natural, we all had personal projects and we ended up following our paths and decided to end Goat Prayers activities. Primordial Idol was a side project I’ve been playing since its foundation in 94, but I’m no longer playing with them. Lost Graveyard was a project by the guitarist of Goat Prayers, which after the recording of the Full album ended activities.
I know and appreciate the band’s work since the time of Hell Desecrater (pre Goat Prayers). You were pioneers in creating a dark atmosphere and using keyboards in a masterful way, and the only South American band at that time to do something similar were the Paraguayans from Sabaoth… How did this idea of creating a type of sound that even came about so wasn’t it so existent and evident in Brazil? What inspiration did you have in the early days?
When we changed the band’s name to Goat Prayers in mid-1994, we changed also the sound of the band, I realized that something was missing, we needed to introduce some element to make the compositions more grim and at that time we listened a lot to Emperor, Satyricon, Abigor etc… We decided to put keyboards and it fit perfectly.
Goat Prayers dates from the beginning of 1992, and the first work was the 1997 split with the ABC Paulista band Dethroned Christ, entitled “We Are the Fist in the Face of God”. Even though it is a primitive sound and with few resources, it managed to capture the sound of both bands in a masterful way… Comment on this first appearance and the other Goat Prayers records…
Actually, this was not our first record, before that we had recorded the demos “Barbaric Dark Legions” (this one had a small distribution in Germany) and “The Dark Red Drape of Flames”, both of which we practically do not promote here in Brazil. The split “We are…” with the Dethroned Christ brothers was the first material to have a real promotion and from there we started to be better known in the underground scene. We then recorded the rehearsal “Medieval Sculpture in Holocaustfields”, demos “Heretic Mountain God” and “Abyssic Warriors of Dragon”, a split with Lost Graveyard, a split 7”EP “Goatwatchers United” and the compilation “The Final Aclamation”.
In 2015, we coincidentally rescued, after a 15-year hiatus, the entity from the interior of São Paulo, Blazing
Corpse, to participate in the memorable Varathron show. This show was a great fuel for them and having recorded new material and being in full swing… Something similar happened with Goat Prayers, do you believe that with all the energy emanating from this celebration with the Masters Hammer and the massive support of the public are you back to steady and will we have a full soon?
Surely the show with Master’s Hammer was something that directly influenced, already, I have material for the recording of the Full album, We just need to go into the studio.
Goat Prayers released an unprecedented sound for the compilation of the renowned label Hammer Of Damnation, as there was already a cooperation in the launch of Lost Graveyard, I see that both sides have a solid and professional relationship, as some materials are already out of print, is there any possibility of relaunch by HOD?
My focus at the moment is the release of the Full album, as the older demo-tapes were not released, there is the possibility of re-releases from the past, too.
We are from a romantic age and reminiscent of the glue on the label…what views do you see different between 1992 and 2018? What have we had positive and negative in these more than 25 years?
There is an abyss separating these epochs. In the past we struggled to get a recording, we exchanged correspondence until we got confidence, then we changed the tapes, we valued everything we had. Today you log in from YouTube and it’s all there. Since then, Black Metal has evolved and this is positive. Access to good instruments and studios is much easier, it used to be a struggle to record. We had more positives than negatives aspects along the way.
I know it’s too early to ask, but how is the band’s writing process going? Can you tell us something about expectations and when will this come and in which format?
The composition of the album is already finished, it just needs to go into the studio and record. THE expectation is the best possible, and being with Hammer of Damnation even better. Luiz knows our work well and knows what Goat Prayers means to us. The format has not yet been decided.
In a completely digital and computerized world, printed zines are a total rarity bordering on extinction… 
what is your opinion on this which was the most important means of dissemination of bands and materials for many years and which is now bordering on oblivion?
Nowadays we don’t see many zines in print. I think the printed zine has a nostalgia and a value that digital does not have. Any kind of physical material you give more value.
Thank you so much for your time, big brother! Leave your thoughts here.
Thank you for the space, and I say that Black Metal is still alive, as there is
people who still believe in what they love and you play a key role in that. We have to keep up the black flag and never back down!!!! Stay Dark!
