On the 25th day of the 12th month of 2012, the Six-Tongued Hellgoat was summoned to arise from the ashes and bring darkness to this place called POPdose. Join him in his quest.
Ritual Thrust into the Profane Maw of Churning Filth
Album: Batillus, Concrete Sustain
Label: Seventh Rule
Release: March 19, 2013
Genre: Blackened Doom Metal
Rating: 10/10
Batillus’s second full length, Concrete Sustain, has been on heavy rotation in the Hellgoat’s brain for more than a month now. These guys started out as an instrumental doom trio but then added vocals and keys to the mix which is what really made them what they are today. And what they are is a band rooted in doom metal, with some blackened elements, some post-metal as well as some electronic touches now and again.
Concrete Sustain is low-end but high-energy. Album ender “Thorns” is the best track on the album to really describe their sound. That song mixes slow mesmerizing doom, with Isis-like post-metal and Fade Kainer’s black metal growls. Batillus also have a vicious hard hitting element to them as well. While, “Concrete” is based in slow grooves and loud drums, the fuzzy bass gives it an electronic feel that really makes the track quite menacing in nature. The Hellgoat also hears a lot of Godflesh influence in the record as “Rust” could have come directly off of Songs of Love and Hate.
From start to finish, Concrete Sustain pulls you in a bunch of directions, from sinking in quicksand to hitting someone in the head with a hammer. There’s no dull moments on the album and at six tracks, it’s the perfect length. Batillus has made a fantastic record that should appeal to a wide variety of metal listeners and becomes the Hellgoat’s fifth perfect 10 of the year.
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Somnolent Regurgitation of the Scrolls of Proselytism
(The Hellgoat wishes to convert you to the ways of the metal. But he prefers to let the press release and bio do most of the talking on these nefarious black circles.)
Album: Nails, Abandon All Life
Label: Southern Lord
Release: March 19, 2013
Genre: Grindcore
Press: Nails carpet bombs the listener with their horrifying brand of death/grind/hardcore chaos; flawlessly blending shades of Suffocation, early Nasum, and Celtic Frost with their own sadistic aggression. With profound hatred, the howling war cry of Abandon All Life shows Nails as a band without equal in their class.
The Hellgoat’s Take (9.5/10): The release does not lie! Even after just two LP’s, Nails really is in a class of it’s own. With a grindcore base but leaning towards the hardcore end of the spectrum, Abandon All Life is simply pummeling. They have quickly become one of the Hellgoat’s favorite bands. The only disappointing thing is that with songs that regularly hover anywhere from thirty seconds to under two minutes, you’d think a full length with more than 10 tracks would be easily obtainable. But that’s a minor gripe as at least there is no filler on their records.
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Album: Earthling, Dark Path
Label: Forcefield
Release: May 7, 2012
Genre: Blackened Thrash
Press: [Dark Path is] a diverse, premier debut offering which will undoubtedly appeal to fans of all things ripping, Dark Path is a coarse display of the band’s terrorizing spirit; a ravenous force that has guided the group through countless shows, relentless demo recordings, and over five years of sheer sacrifice. Recorded by Garret Morris (Windhand, Cough, Parasytic, Bastard Sapling) and mastered by Mikey Allred (Inter Arma, Hellbender, Across Tundras), one can rest assured that this album is well versed in sonic mayhem. Earthling naturally teamed-up with seasoned local label, Forcefield Records, who now boasts the album as one of its most gripping releases, and Earthling as one of its most promising bands.
The Hellgoat’s Take (8/10): All the music is based in thrash but includes elements of Doom and Black Metal as well. Although on paper that doesn’t sound like anything unique, there’s something about this record that makes it sound a lot different than most other bands trying to blend styles like this. It’s definitely worth checking out.
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Album: Flotsam and Jetsam, Ugly Noise
Label: Metal Blade
Release: April 16, 2013
Genre: Power/Thrash
Press: Ugly Noise is the band’s eleventh full-length album, their first release on Metal Blade since 2001, and the follow up to their 2010 album, The Cold. The record also heralds the return of original members Michael Gilbert on guitar and Kelly David Smith on drums, who haven’t recorded with Flotsam and Jetsam since High in 1997.
The Hellgoat’s Take (3/10): F&J released this on their own back in December of 2012 but somehow Metal Blade must have either heard something they liked on the record or decided to release it simply because the name alone will move a few units. There are a handful of decent tracks on the record (“Gittyup”) but “decent” on a few tunes doesn’t yield anything worth listening to. The lack of balls on this record is alarming, as is the lack of quality songwriting. Stay away from this dud.
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