Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes Of God

Goatwhore is probably the coolest name a metal band can think of and that too when they call themselves a blackened-death metal band, you really cant help but ask yourself if they really sound as good as their name or is it really worth my time listening to them. And one listen out of their songs is all you need to tell yourself that Ben Falgoust and Co are not a bunch of metal poseurs and they deserve to be stamped with the KVLT tag. Coming from New Orleans, a place not too familiar with metal, Goatwhore pulls all string together, to once again put together an album which stays true to the basics of metal and provides a very headbangable experience to the listener.

Goatwhore is one classy band that genuinely love metal and don't just want to play it. And it is their this attitude that has made them a forefront in their genre since their start in 1997 and kept them going ever since without any major fallout.Keeping things just as dark and evil as ever before, Goatwhore have added to their collection of blackened death metal albums Carving Out the Eyes of God in their forth studio release.Carving out the Eyes of God is nefariously black and sadistically thrashing in a way that is uniquely Goatwhore, perhaps more so than any previous album, which is saying a lot considering the greatness achieved right from the start.Many bands take years to get their signature sound and once they do get that ,they move on to an altogether new dimension as seen with 1349's The Revelation Of The Black Flames . This is quite a disturbing trend that has led many bands to their downfall.But what Goatwhore have done in Carving Out The Eyes Of God is remarkable in the sense that they have build up the entire album around their signature speed and heaviness of Sammy Duet and Ben's throat wrenching screams that first got people talking about them.

Right from track one “Apocalyptic Havoc”, guitarist Sammy Duet shows his abilities to play the speed and heaviness that got people listening to Goatwhore. Sammy’s technicality has been increased with each album allowing him to make each song different from the last. It is a compact track , with thrashing fist to the face feeling.The band's trademark grab-you-by-throat riff/rhythm moments are heard with even more intensity this time around. Listening to the hard left turns on "The All-Destroying" one gets reminiscent about the latter featuring an introductory riff straight from the book of vintage MOTÖRHEAD.The beginning of ''Carving Out The Eyes of God'' starts off encompassing a more death metal sound, with the brutal blast beats and vehement vocals. Throughout the song we have slower more melodic sounding interludes between the relentless savageries, which give you a refreshing break.

The next song on the album "Shadow of a Rising Knife", we’re thrust back into a faster pace again, with the vocals, guitars and drums all following suit. ''Provoking the Ritual of Death'' and ''In Legions,I am Wars of Wrath'' again seem to go back and embody this slower measure,yet keeping things black and diabolic. ''Reckoning of the Soul Made Godless'',''This Passing into the Power of Demons'' and ''Razor Flesh Devoured'' brings things back to a grinding,spine crunching pace that gives the album a more heavy and thunderous atmosphere - an affectionate and sincere tribute to the old school that has so vividly influenced them, with enough twists thrown in along the way to call the material their own. Album closer "To Mourn and Forever Wander through Forgotten Doorways" offers another twist with its eerie atmospherics that begin with a chilling bass line introduction and vocals from Falgoust that are spoken for the duration. Probably the most sinister and invigorating track of the album, it clearly suggest that Goatwhore are on the threshold of stepping into something even more spectacular.

The fact that the same lineup has remained unchanged since 2006's "A Haunting Curse" has contributed to the tightness of the effort. It is also the band's second production under Erik Rutan's demanding yet productive glare.These two elements have done wonders for the act's unbelievably aggressive attack and overall sound. Simmons' drumming alone must be heard to be believed; his blasts will cause irregular heartbeats, while his rhythmic shifts may very well knock the earth off its axis when the album is played at maximum volume.That Goatwhore has brought its game is not surprising. That the band has done so while reaching new heights of sonic decimation is what's so damn impressive. "Carving out the Eyes of God" is pure fucking metal; as pure as it gets.