Origin: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 🇺🇸
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
New Orleans, Louisiana’s own Goatwhore – named after a less-than-attractive stripper from back in the day and fueled by raw satanic rage – have unveiled their latest effort, “Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven”, via Metal Blade. It’s been a five year wait for this one, and with very little social media activity up until about a month or two ago, the record has also come by surprise. Over the summer, Sammy Duet and crew went out on one final tour in support of their previous “Vengeful Ascension” album, and then – without flinching – went right into brand new release mode with all proper and bestial fanfare unfolding before their wanting horde. Goatwhore are one of those “fine wine” type of projects that only get more complex, yet utterly indulgent as the years pass. Prepare to imbibe the finest…
Goatwhore are a blackened death metal band, but a unique one in comparison to European outfits like Belphegor, HATE and Vader. Much less of a trying-to-destroy-the-universe vibe and a little more of an in-touch-with-true-black-metal feel to the music. And being from the swamp-ridden, gator infested, voodoo-worshipping south, you can also expect lethal doses of groove and doom to be injected directly into that black heart of yours. Pumping along with all that cholesterol, uncut blasphemous venom straight to your disordered cranium – hailing Satan in all of his infernal glory all the while as the sound of low-country blackened chaos bellows into an oppressively brutal atmosphere. In other words… textbook Goatwhore.
With “Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven”, Goatwhore lay down a seamless alternation between fundamental and more explorative compositions. There’s that classic 2006’s “A Haunting Curse” kind of savagery to each and every riff, but also the same level of adeptness, intricacy and BM-heralding sonic warmongering as 2014’s “Constricting Rage of the Merciless”. Tracks like “Born of Satan’s Flesh” and “Bestowal of Abomination” spearheading this dual-sided attack with equal parts thrash-dominated speed, bludgeoning bass-heavy progressions and melodic, almost ethereal sequences that are often strangled out abruptly and most violently by five-senses-scrambling guitar solos.
Epic doesn’t have to mean grandiose, gaudy or pretentious. When executed correctly and with class, this timeless “Creeping Death” and “Seasons In the Abyss” spawning type of approach to writing metal music often yields equally-as-impressive cuts like the titular track here with its many engaging changes in tempo or “And I Was Delivered By the Wounds of Perdition” as it unfolds with both scene and world-rumbling malevolence – an ominous slow-burner that rains down from weeping Heavens drenching, doom-laden riffs in this real end-of-days type of atmosphere-inducing closing track.
As always, a deadly, no compromise album from Goatwhore. But what stands out most are the recording’s many unexpected surprises like the obvious honing of vocalist L. Ben Falgoust’s craft, which has resulted in his most impressive contribution to date and sinister album cuts like “Nihil” that simply play out with the kind of organic energy and unfiltered aggression that you won’t find anywhere else within the blackened death circuit. Over 45 minutes worth of angel-raping blasphemy and soul-destroying debauchery from one of the industry’s proudest yet oft-looked-over bands. For fans of Behemoth, Asphyx, God Dethroned or just near-perfect extreme metal albums…
9.5/10
Experience “Born of Satan’s Flesh” from “Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven” right here:
~Jeger
