ALBUM REVIEW: Goat Separatist Movement – Goatsmegma
The beautiful, picturesque nation of Estonia lies in the north of Europe, nestled between, Latvia, Russia and the Gulf of Finland. It is noted for its sweeping forests, smoke saunas and invention of marzipan. What you may not have expected to explode into your peripherals from this tranquil area of the world like shrapnel from an improvised explosive is a dyed in the wool, bullets-and-gas-mask war metal band by the thoroughly repugnant name of GOATSMEGMA. These Estonian barbarians have just released their new effort Goat Separatist Movement, their sophomore effort and first full-length in three years, carrying on from where their debut (wait for it…) Demonic Goat Smegma Eating Ritual left off. Well, let’s tuck in then.
After an introduction constructed mainly of lo-fi electronics and some grotesque wet sounding noises that are probably best left anonymous, we are firmly lashed with opener Coprophilic Temptation. It’s a nailbomb of jagged, treble-drenched riffing, high register and slightly wispy sounding. The drummer goes hell for leather with the blasts on display and it’s all yanked together with vocals which are very reminiscent of the throaty, bestial roar of Nocturnal Grave Desecrator and Black Winds of BLASPHEMY. The most prominent thing here is the snare drum, which you are acutely aware of all the way through, like a machine gun cutting through the din of battle.
Moving into Extermination Of All Life, you can particularly hear the early doors REVENGE influence floating to the top like scum on a stagnant pond, but it seems to be slightly lacking some of that truly convincing weaponised testosterone that those early albums had. Think Scum.Collapse.Eradication but not quite as searing. Despite this, it’s still fun, particularly the crunchy, slow outro.
Describing basically the worst fate of all the various ones described on Goat Separatist Movement, Drowning Into Goat Sperm is a mid-paced (well, for war metal anyway) slew of chugging riff work and restrained blast beats. It feels somewhat flat until the accelerator is nudged in the middle segment. If, like the author, you don’t really feel like war metal works unless it’s excruciatingly fast, then this one may be a slight let down. Sadistically Murdered By Goat Rebels however seems to address this, offering up a murky, convincingly hate-filled scorcher that’s packed with some of the album’s best riffs.
Enforcing Genocide In Order To Fulfill Lucifer’s Will is one that hits the genre specific sweet spot of speed, testosterone and barbaric riffing. It’s short, razor sharp and thoroughly disgusting, as all the best things should be. Title tracks should always boast the album’s strongest material. When it comes to Goat Separatist Movement, while there are clearly some tight displays of riff work on display here, they are often overshadowed by the position of the snare in the mix. For some reason it is right at the very top, and so becomes the main focus at several points throughout and largely detracts from the rest of the song. A real shame.
Putting The Bomb Under The Church feels somewhat lacklustre, like GOATSMEGMA were starting to run out of ideas, with the main motif riff being just a few jarring chords strung together in the loose rhythm of the song title. However, Decapitating The Holy Prisoners shows they were just clearly saving ideas for this one. If you love a combination of quick drums and slow riffs, the intro to this will seriously scratch that itch before you are sandblasted by the bulk of the song, which is dankly oppressive and gives off serious CONQUEROR vibes throughout.
Upon reflection, it’s clear that GOATSMEGMA are not reinventing the wheel, but what they have provided in Goat Separatist Movement is a perfectly serviceable injection into the war metal genre, albeit one that is just a touch threadbare on ideas. There is nothing here that you won’t already have heard on any number of albums made by bald dudes in wraparounds. To continue on the gastronomic metaphor, it’s far from a meagre portion, but it’ll certainly leave you hungry for more.
Rating: 6/10
Goat Separatist Movement is out now via Godz Ov War Productions.
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