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.
Review by Heavymetal.about.com
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