Crowd Loves Goatwhore

Awnprew Oates

CONTRIBUTOR

Dear Reader,

The night the 21st of September was one of great partying
and rocking out to metal. I speak of course of the concert given
by Goatwhore at the Sound Entertainment Soundstage. As luck
might have it I was able to sit down with Goatwhore before the
concert began to ask some questions about the band.

I met the band members; Sam on guitar, Zack on drums,
Nathan on bass, and Ben the singer. I had many questions
for these veteran metal-heads,
the first being where they were
from, and how long they have
been playing. These fellows
were from the fine city of New
Orleans in Louisiana, and as to
how long, there was some dis-
agreement, but they eventually
settled on 12 years.

I asked them what kind of
music they played, to which I re-
ceived grins and a few chuckles.
Ben explained that they were
metal for sure, but as to the sub-
genre? I have been told ahead of
time by my advisor that Goat-
whore was Black Metal, but this
was only half-true according to
the band (“are you black metal?”
“...um...yes and no”). Well,
their brand of metal — devil-
horns wielding, head-banging,
and mayhem-instigating as it is
— can be described as a mix of
Grind, Thrash, and Black metal.
I wasn’t sure what this meant,
until the music began later, and I
heard the grinding of their tasty
rifts, witnessed the thrashing of
all within the soundstage, and
heard their blackened lyrics,
screamed with an almost de-
monic vigour. I loved it.

Continuing with the interview,
I asked them a question I had ever since I had heard of them
— where did they get their name? You can imagine that this
might be a question on many people’s minds, and quickly they
told me about the various interesting situations they have got
into having such a name, not the least of which was the fun of
crossing the US border. The origins of this-controversy-inspir-
ing name come from the literature by Aleister Crowley. Suf-
ficeit to say that the details of the literature include a slave-girl
bearing a tattoo and a goat, but in truth it is hardly newspaper-
friendly material. It was interesting though, as it was insightful
into the origins of the band, and explained in part the darker
aspects of their music.

I asked them what kind of music they listened to, and what
music inspired them in theirs. Again, some grins, and laughter,

JOSEPH JEFFERY

as I would expect from any down-to-earth people. Of course,
they admitted to listening to all kinds of music, all kinds of
metal, punk, rock, and others that good rockers are accustomed
to. They named a few bads of note that they drew inspiration
from: Celtic Frost, and Venom among them, both part of the
first wave of Black Metal.

My final question to them was what their goals were when
they started, and what they are now. Ben talked about how
their beginning was heralded by the more common wants and
desires of every metal-head and rocker: to go out, have fun,
and be that guy on stage commanding the devil horns and adu-

Friday night at the Goat Whore concert.

lation of the crowd. If the night at the Soundstage was any
indication, they succeeded in that goal. Beyond that however,
Ben told about the somewhat unglamourous conditions of liv-
ing in a van, playing.7 nights a week. Interestingly enough,
this is more than the band they are currently opening for on
their large tour, Cannibal Corpse, who take days off for R&R.
During these times, Goatwhore took it upon themselves to
go to otherwise out-of-the-way and odd cities, such as Prince
George.

So what keeps these men rocking out when push comes to
shove? Well, the answer was genuine, they wanted to keep the
legacy of metal alive. Simply, they listened to kick-ass Black
Metal when they were growing up, and it inspired them, so
much so that they want to keep this legacy alive, and play

| Srarr WRITER

Schaffer’s really pulled out all the stops for this one. The

OVER THE EDGE
September 26 - October 10, 2007

their Black Metal for the people today, us people who would
otherwise be left to obscurity and pre-recorded music. Don’t
get me wrong, from the sounds of it, they are still having a
blast doing it, but their fun is strengthened by their resolve to
keep metal alive and well.

With the interview come to a close, the music was on its way
to beginning. Two local bands opened for Goatwhore: Hellsmen
and Axis Disrupt. I was amazed that this group of metal-men
were from Prince George, both of them conducted the stage
well, with a neccesary mix of excellent music and showman-
ship. One fellow was wearing a kilt, and looked particularily

: like some Scottish
berserker... holding
a bass guitar. The
Hellsmen played a
few songs, notable
one called Only
‘the Strong Survive,
which initiated a
mass of moshing
and head-banging.
Likewise, Axis Dis-
rupt played their
song Axis Disrupt
much to the cheer-
ing of the crowd,

» Finally Goat-

whore took the
stage, and like some
otherworldly force,
everything became
more powerful, more
energetic, and more
fucking insane. The
music was so loud
that F could feel it in
my throat and lungs.
People were mosh-
f ing 10 times harder
than for the other
bands with only a
few minor casual-
ties, including one
fellow being sacked,
but recovering after

Anprew OATES, CONTRIBUTER

only a few minutes.

There were a few minor technical difficulties during the
performance, mostly centered around the faulty cord on Bens
microphone. But this got cleared up, and the music could con-
tinue.

The music itself was loud, grinding, thrashing, and black-
ened, the perfect mix for a true metalhead. They played quite a
few songs, including the title track off their newest album - “A
Haunting Curse...”. Not surprisingly, the crowd near-forced
them to play an encore, which allowed for a few more minutes
of rocking out before the eventual end. At the end, Goatwhore
made a solemn vow, to return to Prince Goerge, and to bring
back the metal, once again.

songs, so richly complex in their weaving, will give greater clar-
ity to the epic story with each listening. Owens is at his best

The second album from Iced Earth with vocalist Tim Owens
is quite possibly one of the best yet: At nearly 70 minutes, epic

is written all over the album from the length, to the story it
| weaves, to the musical vision of Jon Schaffer, the band’s front
man and writer of the story. The first of two parts (the second
should touch down in 2008), this album tells a story of geno-
cide, magic, religion and Armageddon. The hauntingly atmos-
pheric power ballad “The Clouding”, clocking in at almost 9:20,
is the longest song and almost certainly one of the best.

producing vocals that are right on the spot and fit the tone of the
album perfectly.

All in all, if you’re a metal fan, even more an Iced Earth fan
(and yet you haven’t got this already?) and you’re only buying
one album this semester, make sure it’s this one, it’s sure not to
disappoint. With an album like this under their belt, it’s going to
be interesting to see how part two comes along because surely it
can’t get better than this. °