Two years ago BlackGoat Gravedesecrator (aka Goatmoon) released his sophomore album, Finnish Steel Storm, an excellent piece of raw, stabbing black metal that wound up one of my favorites for that year. Naturally I had anticipated whatever Goatmoon would release next, and two years later we have a new s/t EP. Goatmoon is 10 minutes of...well, experimental folk and ambient music with the black metal returning only for its final track."Ghostforest Part I" is a simple folk ballad, guitars and flutes sound off somewhat distantly while samples of an owl overpower the mix at certain points of the track. I'm all for sampling an owl, mind you, a wonderful bird and predator, but the patterns of its hooting do little in the track and it felt too loud. "Ghostforest Part II" continues with acoustics, with what seems to be a low-range woodwind (or synthesizer) for accompaniment. BlackGoat snarls a few times on this track. "Storming Through Whitelight Part I" introduces some significantly better acoustic guitars over percussion and samples, and the EP closes with "Part II", a raw black metal track with vocals, and the strange use of a single clean guitar line louder and separate in the mix. This track is alright, but nothing compared to the material on Finnish Steel Storm.
Whether Goatmoon will continue in this experimental direction is anyone's guess, but the material failed to sink its hooks into me. Thankfully it is confined to an EP format, and a brief one at that. Tangents such as this don't often work out. While the prospect of Goatmoon performing dark acoustic material with folk polish, ambience and samples is one I'd welcome, this material suffers from a horrid recording and lack of much interesting going on. I will have to continue spinning Finnish Steel Storm and Death Before Dishonour and await the next full-length.
Verdict: Indifference [5/10]
1 comment:
A sad verdict, I was excited to see news of a new Goatmoon. Oh well, I'll always have Finnish Steel Storm.
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