Goatwhore – Blood for the Master
Goatwhore // Blood for the Master
Rating: 4.0/5.0—-Bloodbath & beyond
Label: Metal Blade Records
Websites: goatwhore.net/ myspace.com/goatwhore
Release Dates: EU: 10.02.2012 US: 02.14.2012
Holy shite, this is a feisty and fiery one! One of the most successful “project” bands in recent memory, Goatwhore has come roaring back, filled with piss, bile and cayenne peppers on album five, Blood for the Master. This is nasty, blackened death/thrash from the most stagnant bayou of the Big Easy and it’s the musical equivalent of a gator attack. Featuring former members of Crowbar, Acid Bath and Nachtmystium, Goatwhore is professional, single-minded and out to punish mankind. Although they started as an American take on Norwegian black metal like Darkthrone, they’ve since settled into life as a drooling, chomping, black/death/thrash beast. While their past few albums have been a bit samey at times, they were always fun in a berserk, foaming at the mouth kinda way. Blood for the Master continues in the same direction as 2009′s Carving Out the Eyes of God but feels a bit more intense and well thought out. It hits like a nuclear howitzer from Hades with thirty-eight minutes of face melting ugliness and malevolent swagger. There are lots of nods to the classic Bay Area thrash sound, some black n’ roll, classic death riffing and ice-cold, hyper-kinetic trem-abuse. What makes this so entertaining is the odd biker rock vibe Goatwhore manages to impart to the mach-speed chaos. Its hard to explain, but this sounds like black/death as done by a southern rock lovin, greasy biker gang and it works. While this ends up more of a thrash album than a black or death metal opus, it retains enough of an icy black heart to keep most frowners frowning happily (is that possible?). While it doesn’t differ much from what Skeletonwitch has done on the past few albums, its harder, meaner and way more convincing. Continue reading
Wolfen. Never did I hear of them. As the album title suggests, they have three prior releases, yet the mighty Eye of Steel Druhm (like Sauron’s but more bloodshot) never spied them as they skulked through the Germanic underground. I don’t like that, since stealth wolfens are my least favorite kind of wolfen. Regardless, Chapter IV is their first album since 2006 (obstensibly because they were too busy hiding from The Eye to record anything). If this one is any indication of what the earlier platters had to offer, its perplexing they didn’t get more notoriety. They play a style that walks the line between traditional metal and thrash. It also has plenty of that ”Germanic” vibe we all love so much. Their sound comes closest to Angel Dust, especially during their Bleed era, but there are also references to Accept, Grave Digger and Brainstorm. Chapter IV offers some rockin but accessible songs, and unfortunately, a few pedestrian ditties as well. Thankfully, Wolfen hits more often than they miss and this is a solid, enjoyable dose of ballsy, no frills metal with several memorable moments. 
Here’s something slightly different for us here at Angry Metal Guy Worldwide Industries. Vise Massacre is a Brooklyn-based hardcore/punk-thrash power trio and Expendable Humans is their debut full-length (a very short one at thirty-one minutes). Although it’s fairly thrashy and abrasive, there’s no mistaking that this is pure hardcore with similarities to vets of the past like Cryptic Slaughter, Cro-Mags and Sick of It All. It’s all short bursts of fast, chunky punk rage, with most songs (fourteen of em) clocking in at, or under, two minutes. There are some decent riffs scattered about and some really aggressive, herky-jerky, pissed-off material, but sadly, not much here really interests or grabs me in the slightest. Now, let’s be clear. I’m not anti-hardcore at all. In fact, I really like the bands mentioned above. This just feels entirely generic and flat to me, almost like paint-by-numbers angry punk. This somewhat surprised me, since these guys have a fair amount of underground buzz swirling around them. 
So here’s my first official review of 2012 and Steel Druhm must report that the retro-thrash wave has spilled over into another year. Whatever your opinion of such spillage may be, like every trend, some of that deluge is good, some is really bad, the majority floats in the middle. With their debut full length, Chicago toughs Degradation find themselves somewhere in that big middle, drifting toward the good side of the river but not quite able to reach the shore. Enough with the nautical metaphors. This is steady but mostly unexceptional thrash like they used to make in the second and the dreaded third wave (Gothic Slam, anybody?) of the original thrash explosion. Scattered across this fairly short, fly by album are traces of Slayer, Metallica, Testament and even mega-obscure Faith or Fear. It’s a Bay Area thrash revival with the odd piece of the germanic school sprinkled in for flavor (think old Deathrow). Despite the energy and enthusiasm the band brings to the material, I was never able to fully buy into Juggernaut and after repeated listens, some of the tracks just go by without registering in my thrash receptacle (located just under the spleen). I’m not sure if its thrash fatigue or what but this album just doesn’t resonate, though there are some quality moments. 
I’m not sure I’ve made it clear during my vainglorious tenure at Angry Metal Guy Web Industries, but I love me some Immortal. I also tend to appreciate bands that shamelessly mimic Immortal (see 
Wow, how the time flies when you’re a reviewer! It seems like only yesterday we were welcoming in 2011 and looking ahead to a vast sea of new and interesting releases. But now we’ve reached that time of year when we at Angry Metal Guy Industries reflect back on the past twelve months in music. That means taking stock of what we liked and disliked, and sadly, owning up to all the shit we overlooked, ignored, missed or otherwise screwed the pooch on (oh, the SHAME!). First up on Steel Druhm’s Shame Spiral Tour is Upstate New York’s own Armor Column and their debut, Maximum Collateral Damage (available via 
My, how times and tastes change. When I first signed on as a newbie writer for Angry Metal Guy Industries, I was happy and content with all the musical trends in the metalsphere (save anything core, of course). Now, a scant year and a half later, I’m pretty much burned out on black metal and I’m even getting weary of my (formerly) beloved retro-thrash wave. At this point, the trend feels beaten back to life then back to death again. While a few of the recent thrash releases stood out (
Wow, the Thrax is finally back! After endless bullshit, drama and ridiculous delays, the revolving door of vocalists that saw John Bush and Joey Belladonna coming, going and coming again is over (for now). In the peculiar saga that saw John Bush depart so Anthrax could record an entire album with unsung voice Dan Nelson, only to scrap it for planned re-dubs with Bush and then later with original singer Joey Belladonna, we finally get the refinished product. Confused? Yeah, me too. So after an eight year wait, is Worship Music worth the metallic soap opera and histrionics fans had to endure? Well, the hype circus is already in full swing, with the band themselves saying its their best material and some early reviews comparing the quality favorably to genre classics like “Heaven and Hell” and “Stargazer.” Well, allow me to take a step back and simply say, NOT! It’s good and definitely interesting but Steel Druhm shall not be among the throngs of metal press that hail this as some crowning triumph or the best work of their long career. While it isn’t in the same league as their classics, it’s enjoyable and finds them trying new things without completely ditching the classic Thrax sound. Despite a few excellent songs, Worship Music isn’t the release of the year that many (myself included) hoped it would be. 
Its time to defile the crypt of metal once again and Steel Druhm is the best defiler ever! Today, I present not one, but TWO classic releases from a time long ago that deserve a second look. I speak of Holy Terror, the Los Angeles based progressive thrash unit that featured former members of Agent Steel. During their all too brief existence, they released two excellent and unique thrash platters that received a fair amount of critical acclaim. While clearly a part of the 80′s thrash wave, they definately stood out due to their unique and compelling approach. Sure, they played fast but they had an intrinsic intelligence about them and veneer of class that most of their contemporaries entirely lacked. They didn’t really sound like anyone else so comparisons are pretty useless here. While both albums delivered excellently written songs with ample aggression, they also had that certain something that makes a band special. It can’t really be quantified, they just had “it.” 
The one man thrash brigade is back! That’s right, Joel Grind has crawled back from beyond (Oregon) to hammer us with yet another splatter platter of ugly, primitive but oh-so-good 80′s retro thrash. Mr. Grind has been mucking about as a one-man-band in the retro world since 99′, which makes him one of the originators of the ongoing thrash revival. Whether you love him or hate him depends on your tolerance for thrash and reliving the past. Regardless, here on album four, Conjure and Command, he makes it clear he’s not going away anytime soon. Conjure is yet another huge slab of golden age thrash, written by a true fan of the style for fans of the style. As the album unspools, the listener will hear references to all the great 80′s thrash icons and it plays like a thick, meaty stew loaded with Bay Area and Germanic ingredients. Its almost as if Mr. Grind stumbled across a creepy, Ed Gein style yard sale, the kind with plenty of scary old dolls and strange stuffed animals. Tucked away in the back was a bloody box loaded with the missing riffs of Kreator, Slayer and Destruction. Needless to say, that box was plundered mightily during the making of this album. If thrash gives you a rash, here is your chance to flee. If you feel the need for speed, read on. 
