Review & Full Album Premiere: Slow Goat, Where the Wisest Fear to Tread
Portland, Oregon’s Slow Goat release their debut album, Where the Wisest Fear to Tread, this Friday, July 10, guided by big riffs, ground-scorching heavy rock and roll, and a sense of tradition that does little to hold back the modern shove on offer throughout the 46-minute run. The band — vocalist Rosie Peterson, guitarist Daniel Black, bassist Adam Carter and drummer Eric Bloombaum — emerged from plague times with a succession of singles and 2024’s Common Enemy EP that brought them all together, but the eight-song LP draws from none of that material so far as I can tell and, to be sure, has its figurative eyes forward in terms of style, even as pieces like “Fallen Child” and “Under the Glass” delve into the Sabbathian and “Wilting” brings in some Uncle Acid-style garage-doom shuffle.
The primary foundation, however, is rock and roll, even for a reacher like “Dark Procession,” which brings its earlier swirl to a head of poised NWOBHM-y push. Not necessarily unfamiliar ground in terms of aesthetic, but from the ritualistic toll, distortion swell, gong and lumber of the intro “Downward” on, there’s a darker current underlying the surface movement of the songs, and part of the band’s project is establishing that duality as Slow Goat‘s own.
Momentum never hurts, and after the foreboding opening, “Fallen Child” picks up at a decent clip, with Peterson‘s vocals in layers over a progression of harmonized guitar that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Danava record, while we’re thinking of the PNW. A catchy, uptempo shove, it doesn’t reveal the full weight Slow Goat bring to bear on, say, the penultimate “Sisyphus,” but it does pull the listener in before the near-11-minute “Visions/Fell Ritual” departs into a hypnotic build across its first five minutes (presumably “Visions”) before returning to ground feeling that much ‘wiser’ (as per the title) for having made the pilgrimage.
The subsequent “Love Like Water” brings a bassier feel, some direct Sabbath turns, a ripper solo and a slowdown near the end that’s about 
as classic-stoner-rock as you get, even in the cowbell-pickup finish. The aforementioned “Dark Procession” comes through as an intended contrast at what would seem to be the start of side B, satisfying in its shift from movement to movement until the marching succession of crashes leads it out, and “Wilting” harnesses road-burning fuzz wrought through the production/mix by Hippie Death Cult‘s Eddie Brnabic, and keeps the physicality, but redirects from push to saunter along the way.
The wah leads, bluesy croon, cymbal wash and warm boogie suit Slow Goat, but at no point does Where the Wisest Fear to Tread feel singular in its purpose, which is to say, at least at this point, they’re not trying to do or be only one thing, and if there’s persona-creation happening in these songs — I’ll argue there is, for what that’s worth — it feels born of a multi-source songwriting process and the attempt is to encompass multiple sides rather than fence off their own creativity as ‘this’ or ‘that’ kind of band. From a genre standpoint, it’s all pretty heavy, so speaking to doom and rock with hints of psych, proto-metal and, again, Sabbathism, feels like a modern take regardless of its aged roots.
Having “Wilting” next to the how-dense-can-this-fuzz-get rumbling exploration and swinging chug of “Sisyphus” feels like another willful showcase of breadth, or maybe they were just running out of room for songs, I honestly don’t know. But “Under the Glass,” which closes, sets out with an intro of quiet guitar noise before the drums snap in to bring the full-volume nod, and that certainly feels placed on purpose to be a culmination. So it is. The distortion drops out for a vocal-centered verse but renews the roll in the next instrumental chorus, and when they hit into the solo, it’s clear they’re not coming back. A last line from Peterson, some stops and hits timed to the bell of the ride and a final plunge into the low end serve as farewell, and fair enough.
There’s more to take in than it feels like at first, so if you — bold adventurer that you are — are going to take on Where the Wisest Fear to Tread, be ready to give it due attention. It is not passive listening, and it doesn’t feel like it wants to be. You’ll find the full album streaming below, and if you’d like to dig further, down near the bottom of the post are in-studio videos for the A- and B-side closers that bear out the band’s stated focus on live performance at the core of their sound as stated in the PR wire info that also follows.
However you get there and wherever you end up, I hope you enjoy:
Debut album Where the Wisest Fear to Tread took shape over nearly four years, growing with us as we pushed and refined the ideas behind it. The music is close to our hearts, and we’re excited to share it with listeners.
Sonically, we wanted the album to have real weight and gravity without sacrificing the raw edge of our live experience. One of our main songwriting philosophies is to approach the music live-first; It needs to feel full and complete on stage as one vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. To that end, we didn’t rely heavily on studio magic to make the music something it’s not, rather, we used things like overdubs or effects to embellish on an already-strong core. Anecdotally, at least one of the long guitar solos on the record came from an early scratch take during the first session.
Self-released (Digital, Vinyl)
Portland, Oregon, US
Engineered & mixed by Eddie Brnabic (Hippie Death Cult)
Mastered by Jack Endino
Cover Art by Adam Burke
Additional Art by Harold Cuffe
Photo & Layout by Eddie Brnabic
Tracklist:
1. Downward (0:57)
2. Fallen Child (4:23)
3. Visions / Fell Ritual (10:52)
4. Love Like Water (4:21)
5. Dark Procession (7:42)
6. Wilting (6:40)
7. Sisyphus (4:43)
8. Under the Glass (6:38)
Slow Goat is:
Rosie Peterson – Vocals
Daniel Black – Guitar
Adam Carter – Bass
Eric Bloombaum – Drums
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Sincerely,
Slow Goat
Album sounds great, I’ve been listening all weekend! Congrats on the release!