Goatwhore. Rumor has it that the name came from a less than savory incident involving a stripper. And that’s about as light as it gets with this band, particularly with their latest release A Haunting Curse. My ears first perked up when I heard that Sammy Duet (formerly of Acid Bath) was involved. But don’t expect too much sludgy NOLA grooves here, this is blackened death metal garnished with doom.
What struck me about A Haunting Curse were the contrasting thick guitars against the higher melodies, which kept the groove merged with the cacophony. Think ogres marching with harpies. That’s something I always thought was lacking in black metal: a nice thick groove to really dig. And thankfully Duet’s roots in Acid Bath and Crowbar bring that element to their music. Evil doesn’t always have to come from the forests of Norway. Plenty of evil in those swamps of Louisiana, evident in songs like “Alchemy of the Black Sun Cultâ€, “In the Narrow Confines of Defilementâ€, and the title track. There’s also bits of grindcore and hails to legends Celtic Frost thrown in as well.
While A Haunting Curse is brutal, it’s not brutal enough. Attempting to merge sludgy doom with piercing black in their black cauldron, while admirable, is not what I’d call their forte. As Satan’s chefs, Goatwhore may want to let the pot simmer while they check the recipe again in order to bring out the putrid aroma of the green mist properly.
Website: Goatwhore
