Doom is such a wonderful genre. It ranges from the depths of despair with the crushing, monolithic walls of sound which accompany funeral doom to the groove laden, raw and rocking feeling of stoner doom and of course, Black Sabbath’s ‘trinity of doom’ albums from 1971-1973 (Master Of Reality, Volume 4 and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath). The sonic landscape within this genre is vast and there is so much to choose from. Sure, bands like Sleep, Electric Wizard, Saint Vitus, Church Of Misery, Pentagram and other notable names stand out and you can add Goatess to that list.
Formed in 2009 by Vocalist Christus (Christoff Linderson, Lord Vicar, ex-Saint Vitus,) and Guitarist Niklas in Stockholm, the band were conceived with the notion that their music would be more about the ‘power of the riff’ – taking a guitar or bass riff and expanding on it, creating a massive soundscape and atmosphere. The result ended up in their self-titled debut ‘Goatess’, released in 2013 on Svart Records and the best way to describe it would be psychedelic stoner-doom metal. Full of wonderful riffs and captivating and mind bending sounds, this album received high praise and three years later with a slightly changed line up, Goatess return once again to blow our minds. With Purgatory apparently being under new management, let us see how it fares under this new stewardship.
The slow, melodic descending guitar line with a warm and rich bass tone opens up “Moth To Flame” and almost instantly you are sucked into it. The subtle drums give it some slam kind of timing whilst the stringed section slowly encircles you and when Christus’ vocals kick in, everything just transforms. Delivered softly with a real remarkable sound, the vocals combine with the music behind them to create a hypnotic effect. Emotive and expressive, the music slowly begins to build up momentum giving a great feel to it and then it happens… Two minutes in, the riff kicks in as the clean, melodic section reaches its crescendo and to put it bluntly.. Fuck!
The fantastic tone is just something beautiful. Rich fuzz and perfectly balanced, the guitar riff brings the bass and drums to build up more and what results is a full on groove which opens up a new feeling and forces you to surrender yourself to it. With more power behind the vocals this time, they have a real hook to them as Christus’ delivery paints a vivid picture with the music bringing it to life. It’s not heavy as such, but the pounding feel and intensity is massive and you just find yourself caught up in it. Before you know it, you’re at the later stages of the track and the riffs become slightly darker and heavier and a sense of urgency and franticness appears, bringing with it some wild guitar sounds and dramatic, powerful vocals, really shaking it up before it subsides and fades out. What an opening track!!!
Title track, “Purgatory Under New Management” follows next and it starts off with a slow, building drone-like riff under a spoken word sample about the assimilation of paganism into Christianity. As this builds up and sets the scene, the drums and bass come in to build it up some more and the sound of the bass is delightful, clear in the mix and with a great tone! Progressing through the track, it begins to get heavier as the vocals bring the lyrics to life, creating another hypnotic effect over an intricate guitar lead melody and much like the previous track, it builds in intensity and atmosphere before getting more distorted, heavier and intense, resulting in an intricate guitar and drum heavy section to end the track!
With a title which is a clever play on the widely known ‘Murphy’s Law’ which is often the go to explanation for pessimists and realists, “Murphy Was An Optimist” is the next track on this album. Opening up with a real driving feel, the solid riff and drums are accompanied by a booming bassline, creating a steady pulse which is perfect to headbang to whilst the vocals are solid and help push the track on. The riff changes throughout the track, in parts it becomes more melodic for the guitar parts, in others the bassline becomes more melodic but whatever approach it takes, it still maintains that headbanging pulse, the whole idea behind Goatess and their musical vision – create the riff then build the atmosphere around it. Be it the hypnotic feel sections later on in the track or the rumbling and melodic lines earlier on, the simple structure of this track appears so massive because of the little touches the band add to create the atmosphere and the simplistic lead line which ends the song caps it all nicely.
Instrumental track, “Crocodillians And Other Creepy Crawly shh…..” is your typical ‘out there’ moment of the album and not just because of its title. The track consists of a slow, doomy riff which grows in volume and presence, accompanied by a hypnotic wah-laden bassline and steady drums all underneath some samples from a wildlife documentary… Yeah… Anyway, it is hypnotic and captivating. The way the bass’s rich tone and then the intricate clean licks of the guitar combine, it has a real surreal quality to it and as it gets heavier once more, surging and swirling effects really bring it to life, making it the musical equivalent of mushrooms or other hallucinogenic substances!
Bringing us back to reality so to speak, “Shadowland” can be described in four simple words – ‘All Hail The Riff!”. With a sound reminiscent of the ‘doomy’ Sabbath era, this track sounds fantastic and would easily fit in with the likes of ‘Sweat Leaf’, ‘Snowblind’ and ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ in the musical department. Vocally, its slightly darker and more ominous to the other tracks and as usual Christus’ delivery brings it all to life. With great timing, excellent delivery and memorable hooks across the track, this is just one to lose yourself in. Round the 3:30 point, we get the iconic ‘lone guitar riff’ moment which leads to a thunderous sounding section which is massive in all elements. Pounding basslines and solid drums lay down a huge sounding foundation for the guitar to freely express itself with a unique solo which has a surreal edge to it before the riffs come back once more.
“Silent War” takes us away from the altar of Iommi and into a spookier place. With a thick basslineand swirling sample, it goes into a real heavy riff underpinned by a steady pulse and coated with a powerful presence. With slightly hazy vocals coming and going between the clear deliveries, it further increases the unease about the track and the solid, chugging riffs give a great groove to it. Round the 5:30 section, there is a huge wah-laden guitar riff which really builds the track up, leading it into a huge sounding section. With a rich and boomy bassline, great vocal work, captivating drums and hypnotic guitar lines, it keeps you in its trance before a real slick and delightful guitar solo blows you away, giving the track a real magical edge.
“Wrath Of God” is the penultimate track and it will consume you. With a rich sounding clean intro laced with a melodic quality, the guitars ring out wonderfully whilst the bassline drives it on and the intricate drum patterns lock it all down to a steady pace. It picks up as the vocals come in and round the 2:20 part, we get a big kick as the distorted section comes in with a real thick sound but it isn’t as overpowering as you would anticipate. Going back to the clean sound, it gets hypnotic once again and as expected, it distorts once more, bringing in a real headbanging feel section before the vocals trail off as a melodic guitar lead takes over. Shifting once more, a hypnotic wah-laden bass heavy section follows with subtle vocals and here is where reality starts to slip away. A clean lead is accompanied by ‘Ahhh’ like backing vocals and subtle synths which all create a fantastic and epic sound and atmosphere. From here, it’s just a case of sit back and enjoy as the leads guide you through to another distorted section, backed up and in places, augmented by the backing vocals and synth, it hits with real power and honestly, this track right here is the best way to describe why you need this album!
Closing the album is “Good Moaning” and it’s back to a more groove-orientated feel. With its heavy, steadily thumping rhythm section and muted guitar chugs, it has a powerful edge which is only amplified by the enticing vocal delivery. Changing feel slightly, the riff alters the pace of the track and switches it to a pounding feel before shifting back again, all the while retaining its thunderous feel and delivery, giving it a real heavy sound. Constantly riddled with subtle changes, it keeps flowing smoothly and draws the album to a close.
Overall, this is a phenomenal release. Laden with great riffs, captivating and hypnotic sensations, a massive sound and atmosphere which just takes you away and blows your mind, Goatess have managed to create a masterpiece here which ranks up there with the best of them. Purgatory is under new management and if this is any indication, Purgatory sounds like a wonderful place to visit! Even though we’re only in the first half of the year, Goatess could very well have released album of the year!
(10/10 Fraggle)
Sonic Recapitulation 