Goatwhore - 'Carving Out The Eyes Of God'

Groove and grit galore from down-South blackened metal quartet.

Goatwhore has toiled under the sign of the black mark since their inception early in the 21st century. Vocalist Ben Falgoust survived a near-crippling car accident and the band’s hometown New Orleans was decimated by Hurricane Katrina. The challenges have stoked a fury and a passion for craft absent from most contemporary metal. If you like your metal dirty and direct, you need to check out Carving Out The Eyes of God.

Carving Out The Eyes of God fuses Celtic Frost, early Venom and Motorhead catchi ness with a black metal sensibility. It combines the crust punk irascibility of their early work like The Eclipse Of Ages Into Black with the slight technical edge of A Haunting Curse and adds musical chops earned during non-stop touring.

There’s nary a song on this album that’s more than four minutes and no room for embellishment save an occasional solo. Every note on this album is earned. And nearly every track—particularly scorchers like “Reckoning of The Soul Made Godless” and “Razor Flesh Devoured” - is lined with the punchy old-school groove that made songs like “Fires Of The Judas Blood” and “Blood Guilt Eucharist” concert staples.

Each performer shines. Sammy Duet, who cites Celtic Frost as a key influence, rolls out Tom Warrior-style riffs with Southern seasoning. Ben Falgoust – who opens the album by screeching “who needs a God when you’ve got Satan” offers one of the finest vocal performances in an already impressive extreme metal career. Goatwhore’s low-end gels on this album now that bassist Nathan Bergeron and drummer Zack Simmons have spent a few years with the band. Erik Rutan, who has become the go-to producer for Metal Blade bands, elicits strong performances all around.

On Carving Out The Eyes Of God, Goatwhore reaches the potential they have hinted at during the past decade.