Goat Major Premiere “Snakes (Goddess of the Serpent)” Video; Ritual Out March 8
Posted in Bootleg Theater, Reviews on February 2nd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Welsh trippy doom metallers Goat Major will release their debut full-length, Ritual, on March 8 through Ripple Music. Comprised of eight songs — “Snakes (Goddess of the Serpent)” wastes no time diving in as the opener; its video premieres below — and running 41 minutes, it is outwardly doom in its cultish downtrodden point of view, but to listen to the guitar at the end of the title-track, a melodic reference to ’60s psychedelia takes hold, and in “Light of the End,” that vibe extends to a druggy ’90s alternativism, growing declarative and sneering as it nods through its six-plus minutes, catchy with backing vocals behind bassist Tom Shortt, who’s joined in the group by guitarist Jammie Arnold and drummer Simon Bonwick, so the proceedings are not as straightforward as they might seem when “Snakes (Goddess of the Serpent)” unfurls the first of Ritual‘s several genuinely righteous rolls, an air of metallic dankness around a Candlemassian creeper of a riff serving double-duty as an intro to the album and a preface to the verse, which calls Electric Wizard to mind without losing itself in an aural fog.
At least not much. Indeed, there’s more going on throughout Ritual influence-wise than it might at first seem. “Power That Be” opens side B (I think) with an acoustic strum but soon moves into the push of a classic stoner rock riff, fuzz and all, distinguished by the change in context that sets it to such doomly purpose. The subsequent “Mountains of Madness” gives some manner of echo to this in a verse the vocal pattern of which is reminiscent of Acid King‘s ur-landmark “Electric Machine,” even if Goat Major take the song elsewhere for the chorus, touching again on the psychedelic in a way that feel far removed from the insistent hook of the title-track back on side A but that is no less crucial in its intention. And “Ritual” has its jammy part too, so these things are all relative, however one might end up blocking them into categories or hearing something here that’s also there, etc. From that, one can take the assurance that Goat Major‘s debut boasts nascent perspective on genre and is unafraid to take inspiration from blatant Sabbath worship early in “Turn to Dust” to the Slomatics-ish drama brought to the same song a short time later by Mellotron.
“Mountains of Madness” is more than half over by the time it gets to the chorus — rules — and has a semi-lysergic break that brings back the hook for a big slowdown ending with laughter over top. Hypnotic as that movement is, “Evil Eye” feels like a regrounding in doom and is a sleeper highlight, encapsulating the doom/fuzz meld and the impulses toward structure and fuckall that seem to be competing in Goat Major‘s sound right now. A side B complement to “Ritual,” maybe, and it’s not the last track — they cap atmospheric with the drumless open-space distortion wash of “Lay Me Down,” vocals far back in that churning ambient melodic hum — and it’s not the longest track, which is “Mountains of Madness” just before, but it says something about who Goat Major are circa their first album, and it is encouragingly their own in its willingness to cross stylistic lines that are awfully sacrosanct for being entirely made up and despite cult themes that will ring as familiar to experienced heads taking it on. I’m not sure they need those, and I find myself wondering what other stories their material might tell, but I’m not about to tell a band making their debut that they should drop the lyrical foundation they’re working from. Seems neither helpful nor useful. Plus I think if I was from Wales I’d probably be into the occult too. It’s like made for it.
That said, part of what makes Ritual engaging in its niche-crossover execution is that the band are exploring and at the beginning stages of their longer-term growth, and that development over time could take them down any number of thematic avenues, including the one they’re currently on, which suits this material fine and offers intricacy without pretense, heavy doom for and by those for whom it serves as a lifesblood. I’ve highlighted the individuality of what they do on Ritual here, and that’s because I believe that even more than the malevolent fuzz on the guitar or the sneer in Shortt‘s delivery, it’s the drive to present themselves as themselves that will serve them best over the course of their tenure, and whatever they’ll ultimately do with their sound, you can hear the roots of it in “Light of the End,” or “Evil Eye” or maybe even “Lay Me Down,” which lays claim to an entire seminar’s worth of mind expansion. Maybe this is the new generation’s statement and innovation — it doesn’t have to just be one or two things, it can be an encompassing whole built from parts that, to players in generations past, were disparate. That sounds like progress to me, and may or may not be the story of Goat Major as told by their next few records, but it certainly feels relevant to mention in light of what they achieve on Ritual.
The aforementioned video for “Snakes (Goddess of the Serpent)” premieres below, followed by more from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Goat Major, “Snakes (Goddess of the Serpent)” video premiere
The second single from the upcoming Goat Major album on Ripple Music is HERE! This is “Snakes (Goddess of the Serpent)” – enjoy the music video and then hit the links below to pre-order your copy of “Ritual” now – available March 8th on Vinyl/CD/Digital formats!
Hailing from Wales, the land of ancient monuments and Celtic traditions, GOAT MAJOR is a formidably earth-shattering newcomer in the British stoner and doom metal scene. The band was formed during the harsh lockdown of a global pandemic by longtime friends Jammie Arnold (guitar), Simon Bonwick (drums) and Tom Shortt (bass/vocals), who all grew up within half a mile of each other in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the shadow of the town’s medieval castle.
The power trio worked hard crafting songs of catchy sinister occult doom metal, all while escaping the brutality that was cast upon the world. As restrictions started to lift, GOAT MAJOR began playing shows as an instrumental band before Shortt decided to take up the vocal duties. The band continued fine-tuning their songs with regular shows around the south/west of Wales and further afield in England and consequently started playing higher profile shows around the UK, sharing the stage with the likes of Thunder Horse, Wytch Hazel, Sigiriya, Parish, OHHMS, Made Of Teeth, Inhuman Nature. They also performed at Swansea Fringe festival and headlined Rock the Gwasbah festival in West Wales.
Following the recent release of their “Evil Eye” EP, GOAT MAJOR recently signed to US reference stoner, doom and heavy rock label Ripple Music for the release of their debut album “Ritual” in March 2024.
GOAT MAJOR – Debut album “Ritual”
Out March 8th on Ripple Music (vinyl, CD, digital)
International preorder – https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/ritual
US preorder – https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/product/goat-major-ritual
TRACKLIST:
1. Snakes (Goddess of the Serpent)
2. Ritual
3. Turn to Dust
4. Light of The End
5. Power That Be
6. Mountains of Madness
7. Evil Eye
8. Lay Me Down
GOAT MAJOR is
Jammie Arnold – guitar
Simon Bonwick – drums
Tom Shortt – bass & vocals
brutalizing their devoted fanbase ever since, unleashing a rash of EPs and demos, one full-length release, splits with Negative Reaction and Unearthly Trance and more over the past seven years. They’ve ripped a wound in the UK and across Europe with brutalizing live shows alongside some of the best and heaviest names in the extreme metal world.
