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Review & Full Album Stream: Goatess, Blood and Wine

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on September 23rd, 2019 by JJ Koczan

Goatess Blood and Wine

[Click play above to stream Goatess’ Blood and Wine in full. Album is out Friday on Svart Records.]

Let’s get it established right away that the third Goatess full-length, Blood and Wine, continues the thread of quality output the Swedish outfit began with their 2013 self-titled debut (review here) and pushed forward on their 2016 second album, II: Purgatory Under New Management (review here). Blood and Wine arrives holding firm to an every-three-year pace and to notions of traditional Sabbathian heavy alike, but the band’s circumstances have changed considerably. Guitarist Nicklas Jones and drummer Kenta Karlbom are the only remaining original members of the four-piece, and along with bassist Samuel Cornelsen, who comes aboard as at least the third low-end specialist with whom the band have worked over the course of their decade together, Goatess also have a new frontman in vocalist Karl Buhre. Also of Stockholm-based death metallers CrucifyreBuhre takes the place of Christian “Chritus” Linderson (still of Lord Vicar, ex-Count Raven, Saint Vitus, etc.), and therein lies the inevitable narrative of the record.

At 65 minutes long, Blood and Wine tips the scales of manageability, but the songs it collects groove enough and are memorable enough to effectively carry the listener through that extended run, whether it’s the loosely drifting verses of “Jupiter Rising” or the weighted landmark hooks of “Dead City” early on and the penultimate “Stampede,” both of which stand out in Goatess catalog as a whole, no matter who’s in the band. Songwriting has always been Goatess‘ secret weapon, and it comes more to the forefront with Blood and Wine, and in bookending the record with its two longest tracks in opener “Goddess” (8:15) and closer “Blood and Wine” (14:07), they create a context of immersion that grabs attention from the first lead lines of “Goddess” and holds through the extended fading jam of the finale. All of this is to say that while invariably there are those for whom Blood and Wine will be defined by the change in personnel up front — and fair enough — Goatess remain unflinching in their commitment to the proliferation of high grade traditionalist doom heavy.

And riffs. Oh, they’ve got riffs. Jones leads much of the proceedings throughout, and as Goatess dig into rockers like “Black Iron Mark” and “Dark Days,” there’s an undercurrent of classic heavy rock that comes through in a way that Buhre‘s vocals only help emphasize. The latter of those is the centerpiece of the tracklisting and also the shortest inclusion at 4:23, and it’s about as straight-ahead a rocker as I can ever recall the band putting together, though they’ve had a few at this point. Still, a raw production sound on Karlbom‘s snare and the manner in which Buhre follows the rhythmic patterning of the guitar gives “Dark Days” a rudimentary mood that suits the sans-frills structure, and there’s plenty of heft in the subsequent “Dunerider” as the lead tone recalls the opener but moves into a speedier chug and finds the vocals engaging some effective layering in the hook that one hopes will become a point of further development in the future.

goatess

“Dunerider” is the opener of the second of Blood and Wine‘s two LPs, so perhaps its mirroring “Goddess” is intentional, but it works either way, no less so than the psych flourish of “Jupiter Rising” seeming to be in sonic conversation with the languid build in the second half of “What Lies Beneath” at the outset of side B. Amid a generally more swinging, rocking approach, there’s still plenty of doom to be found in Goatess‘ sound, they’ve simply become more dynamic in how it’s applied. As resistant as a fan of their first two records might be to such a change, it’s not actually so radical a leap from one to the other so much as it is a readjustment of the balance that’s been at the core of their work all along. There are shifts in style, sure, but it’s nothing that those who heard and dug the self-titled or its follow-up shouldn’t be able to get on board with, barring any “no Chritus no Goatess“-type griping.

Maybe that’s inevitable to some degree in the current social media climate even as it applies to underground heavy and doom, and I’m not trying to minimize the presence Linderson brought to Goatess at all. What remains, however, is a band who set themselves to the task of reestablishing their place in a heavy pantheon where they’d previously found vigilant welcome, and, I’d argue, doing that to righteous effect. A second debut? Not really, but certainly a debut for Buhre, who gives flashes here of the singer he might become in Goatess going forward, as heard on “Dunerider” and again in the side D-consuming title-track, which effectively summarizes Blood and Wine‘s blend of doom and rock while bringing a more open sensibility to the proceedings than Goatess have ever had before.

That jam takes hold shortly after about minutes in and carries through in semi-hypnotic fashion, the band essentially riding the final riff into oblivion and stretching it outward across a wash-soaked landscape before the march moves into its long fadeout. Certainly Goatess have had long tracks before, but “Blood and Wine” owns its 14 minutes with a sense of mastery that is very much evidence of a band on their third album knowing where they’ve been before and willing themselves to push beyond it. Given the changes they’ve undertaken since the last offering, Goatess do succeed in that progression on Blood and Wine — much, honestly, to one’s relief as a fan of the first two LPs. And in some subtle ways, they demonstrate where they might go in terms of style in the future as the chemistry with their new lineup more fully develops. More harmonies, more toying with structure, and a malleable sense of weight and production style can only be assets to Goatess from here on out, as they certainly help make their third record a victory in much more than let’s-just-keep-going fashion. This is a band who still have more to say.

Goatess on Thee Facebooks

Goatess on Bandcamp

Svart Records website

Svart Records on Thee Facebooks

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Goatess Set Sept. 27 Release for Blood and Wine

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 19th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

goatess

It’s a different Goatess this time around. Since the arrival of 2016’s II: Purgatory Under New Management (review here), the Swedish doom traditionalists have swapped out bassists and frontmen, and the Sept. 27 release of Blood and Wine will be their first record with Karl Buhre on vocals and Samuel Cornelsen (also Count Raven) handling low end. Buhre in particular has some rather sizable shoes to fill — those of Christian “Chritus” Linderson — but certainly guitarist Niklas Jones and drummer Kenta Karlbom have established a presence of their own over the course of the band’s two full-lengths to-date, so I look forward to digging into the new one and hearing what the personnel swap turns up in terms of their overall dynamic. The PR wire hints toward some desert rock vibes, which only has me more curious.

No audio yet, but here’s art and info and the always-coveted preorder link:

Goatess Blood and Wine

GOATESS set release date for new SVART album

Svart Records announces September 27th as the international release date for Goatess’ highly anticipated third album, Blood and Wine, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Goatess summon the frenzy and religious ecstasy of a Bacchus cult with the aptly titled Blood and Wine. Riffs of biblical, Cecil B. DeMille magnitude part the Red Sea and chariot their way across the dunes like a relentless raging Roman legion. Expert songwriting by modern veterans of the scene, Sweden’s Goatess take the traditional doom metal foundations of Saint Vitus, Trouble, and early Cathedral out to the desert and mold it into a set of arid, hypnotic stoner grooves. Bringing to mind modern classics of desert rock like the catchier moments of Kyuss’ Sky Valley and Corrosion Of Conformity’s Blind albums, Blood and Wine is a thirst-quenching refreshment in a parched dust bowl. The revitalized lineup of Kenta Karlbom (drums) and Niklas Jones (guitar) with new initiates Karl Buhre (vocals) and Samuel Cornelsen (bass) have struck a mother lode of gold with their rich doom pedigree and a newfound lifeblood in their chemistry. Having already tread the hallowed boards of sonic temples all over Europe several times, Blood and Wine will see the Goatess cult of doom enthusiasts drawn in anew and the Bacchanalia cult swelling in their hooded numbers.

Nine doses of intoxicating mesmerism that showcase seasoned and masterful command of doom-craft, this album marks Goatess finding a stride in their cloven hooves. Captivating and subtly epic songs steamroll a slow descent into the underworld deserts of your mind, providing a suitable companion to nights of group debauchery or solo excursions to the soul’s outer limits. Giving in to the Bacchanalia at the heart of this record induces a mythical orgy of sonic Sabbathian riff-worship that’s impossible to deny. Once you pop the cork on this barrel-fermented vintage cask, you will enjoy and savor every heavy gulp until the very last drop.

First track premiere to be revealed shortly. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Goatess’ Blood and Wine
1. Goddess
2. Dead City
3. What Lies Beneath
4. Black Iron Mark
5. Dark Days
6. Dunerider
7. Jupiter Rising
8. Stampede
9. Blood and Wine

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Goatess, II: Purgatory Under New Management (2016)

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