### Goatess: Goatess

#### 16/12/13 || gk

If you’re into doom metal, then the name Christian Linderson should ring a few bells. This Swedish vocalist made his recording debut with Count Raven back in 1990 and after a brief stint with St. Vitus in the early 90s nothing much was heard from him. Then in 2011 I caught up with Linderson’s work on Lord Vicar’s awesome “Signs of osiris” album. Linderson sounded energetic and pulled off an excellent vocal performance.

When news broke of a new band fronted by Linderson I was more than a little excited and Goatess’s self-titled debut has pretty much surpassed all of my expectations. The band, rounded out by 3 unknown dudes, basically craft traditional doom metal songs but with progressive, psychedelic, hard rock, blues and stoner influences. What we have here is some of the most varied bunch of songs you can club under the doom metal genre, filled with memorable choruses, excellent musicianship and some killer song writing.

Album opener “Know your animal” starts things off with a laid back melody but soon goes into a fuzzy riff that is equal parts Sabbath and desert rock. Alpha omega has a heavy bass tone and a lurching mid paced stomp that allows Chritus to take centre stage and the man delivers with an impassioned performance on this song. “Full moon at noon” is all groove and bluster before taking off into space with a shimmering, psychedelic middle part. The song helps build momentum and the following double blow of “Oracle Pt. 1” and “Oracle Pt. 2” takes the album to its creative peak. This is some seriously good songwriting with Pt.1 being the shorter, more atmospheric piece delving into psychedelic soundscapes and Chritus’s beautifully rendered vocal melody. Pt. 2 brings the doom in the form of a fuzzed out riff and another memorable vocal line from Chritus. The song essentially relies on just the 1 riff to make its point and succeeds remarkably well. “King one” is a 10 minute behemoth of lurching riffs and a slightly more aggressive performance from Chritus but again the band goes off on a softer, more psychedelic interlude in the middle of the song that works perfectly with the heavy riffs that have gone before. Album closer “Tentacles of zen” starts with a memorable sample from BBC’s historical drama “I, Claudius” and it’s the most experimental song on the album. Starting off in pretty normal fashion, the band then goes off into an Arabic sounding instrumental part that somehow fits in with everything that’s gone before it. A perfect ending to what really is a pretty flawless album.

It’s quite rare for a band making its debut to sound this self-assured. The songs are fully formed, the band is never afraid to push the boundaries of the genre they’re in and while the Black Sabbath influence is apparent, the band manage to sound modern and 70s worshiping at the same time. Guitarist Niklas is adept at groove and memorable riffs but it’s the melodies and the space rock tendencies he brings that lift these songs up from the normal and common. The rhythm section of Findus and Kenta are spot on with Findus’s bass getting a nice fat tone and often stepping in as a second guitar. Chritus is still the star of the show though. He brings his unique style to the forefront here and just about every song on this album has a memorable chorus/ verse/ vocal melody or all three.

If you’re into doom metal at all, then you need to hunt this band down. Goatess has grown on me with every listen and after spending a good part of the year with it, this is in my top 5 for 2013. Essential stuff.

- Information
- Released: 2013
- Label: Svart
- Website: Goatess Facebook
- Band
- Chritus: vocals
- Niklas: guitars
- Findus: bass
- Kenta: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Know Your Animal
- 02. Alpha Omega
- 03. Ripe
- 04. Full Moon at Noon
- 05. Oracle Pt. 1: The Mist
- 06. Oracle Pt. 2: The Oracle
- 07. King One
- 08. Tentacles of Zen