Metal&Shit Forums

When it comes to the NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) metal scene, I've always loved the whole "sludge" scene and some of the superstars of that sub-genre, a la Crowbar, Eyehategod, Acid Bath, Soilent Green and a handful more.

But hey, Goatwhore is a NOLA legend with a distinct difference; they aren't the well-known, much-loved sludge merchants but yet another unmistakeable bm-dm hybrid. But yes, they do occasionally inject the southern-sludge flavours into their music that experienced ears don't miss. They put thrash, black, death and smatterings of hardcore, even, through the blender, into their sonic mix. As with Angelcorpse, I really love Goatwhore and what they have done, so far.

They debuted with a demo in '98, before belting out their first full-length, The Eclipse of Ages into Black, a very strong, satisfying opening salvo that I still rate pretty highly. Next came the '03 release, Funeral Dirge for the Rotting Sun. Then, in '06 they contrived their third one, A Haunting Curse, which was true to form and what fans had come to expect from the band, i.e mostly mid-tempo, unrelentingly intense (even atmospheric) extreme metal that was never overly complex but pretty straight-forward and in-your-face aggression. Their latest release this year, Carving out the Eyes of God is a truly terrific disc that belongs right up there among my biggest favourites of '09.

Any fans here?

http://www.myspace.com/goatwhore

http://twitter.com/GoatwhoreNola

I really like this band. The new album, Carving Out The Eyes of God, is definitely one of the better releases this year.

Well Prior to hearing them I was already a huge fan of the other bands the members participated in. I recall getting to see the band at a Fest before the debut album was released, and was suitably impressed. I liked the 1st CD for the most part, although it had a limited time in my CD rotation. I wasn't so taken with the follow up initially, not sure why really. Now when I listen to it I definitely like it. Although I still prefer A Haunting Curse to the two previous releases. I think the album has a just a little more variety in the music, and they didn't seem to be trying so hard to sound European any longer (to me). It was definitely one of my favorite albums of 2006.

I'm still undecided about the latest album. I've only listened to it a couple times yet. It's not bad, but hasn't totally grabbed me either.

Aha, I confess that A Haunting Curse, despite pretty tepid fan reception and online reviews, is probably my favourite Goatwhore disc, to date. Give the latest disc a patient try-out, sometime. It might sink in and impress you, eventually. I know I like it a lot, already.