Goatwhore: Carving Out The Eyes Of God

For a metal fan that has never heard Goatwhore, searching online to find out what genre they’re lumped in to can be misleading. Well, maybe misleading in regards to the anticipated sound of their new album, Carving Out The Eyes Of God. When I started to do a little research I found that they are considered to be “Blackened death metal” by most. Yes, I know, shame on me for never hearing Goatwhore before! Heard the name, just never heard the music. Anyway,  I wouldn’t call them blackened death metal but if their older albums are anything like COTEOG, then I would have a difficult time defining their sound as blackened anything. With the exception of a few songs on the cd, you can’t really throw them in to that category.

Carving Out The Eyes Of God sees a lot of different elements of different sub-genres in metal. As I listen to the album I can make out the typical elemental sounds that are normally associated with death metal as well as some tremolo picking that’s often associated with black metal, but it doesn’t feel like it has much of a blackened aspect to it enough to throw the band in the mix with all the other BDM bands.

There are heavy power chord rhythms as well as some punk/grindcore guitar sounds that keep things simple, yet incredibly cool. A touch of speed metal sounding riffs also make their way into a song or two. You can really feel their southern metal roots in a lot of these songs. There is also a lot of bottom end in the album that really holds their sound together and sounds incredible in surround sound and good headphones. The solos,…oh, the solos. The solos sound like they should, not overplayed wankery but still full of passion, melody and well fitting to the song.

The vocals vary from very audible Cavalera-ish tones to deep traditional death metal growls. Lyrically, the album deals with the same thing that most metal albums of the nature do, death, Satan and so-on and so-forth.

Goatewhore may not be the most technical or melodic band out there but they know how to write a great solid metal album without feeling like they have to “wow” the listener with stupid breakdowns, ridiculous leads or special effects. The album is also mixed very nicely with every instrument woven together into a very tight sounding work of art.

Simply put, Carving Out The Eyes Of God is what a modern metal album should sound like; slightly raw, extremely heavy, a bit catchy and possesses the must-have longevity that makes you listen to it for days on end without tiring of it. Too many bands and albums are easily forgettable these days. You won’t forget this album.

You can hear the opening track Apocalyptic Havoc, from Carving Out The Eyes Of God at Goatwhore’s Myspace.

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