Goats of Doom – Rukous

Band: Goats of Doom
Title: Rukous
Country: Finland
Label: Primitive Reaction
Release date: 04 December 18
Format reviewed: Digital MP3

Goats of Doom is another band from the seemingly bottomless Finnish Black Metal scene, a scene that makes you want to travel into countryside of Finland, finding your own secluded lake, set up camp and listen to Black Metal. I find it intriguing that this nation brings us so many great bands, all over the metal spectrum. My heart is clearly rooted in the underground of extreme forms of metal, and there I find this band who is clearly evolving but remaining true to their own style. They are melodic, symphonic, somewhat brutal on this record. They seem a bit more aggressive than they did on the brilliant “Alla Kirkkaimman Tahden” from 2017. And even if I thought that was a great album, I really like the slightly different direction they are doing here. The variations are great, grim intense vocals are paired with folk feeling clear vocals. Being symphonic does not mean that synth must lead the party, these guys are clearly guitar driven here. Great riffs, blistering solos and some beautiful soulful classical guitar parts. Adding an amazing drummer into the mix (some prog tendencies in his delivery), and he has some great breaks. What is missing is the bass, a bit low in the mix? Maybe it is just focused on following the guitars – that works of course, but I like to distinguish the bass. The tracks on this record are varied, it opens with one of the strongest, “Veressä on perustani juuret,” a great opener that really defines what Goats of Doom is all about. Track 7, “Riivaaja,” is a killer ending with a strange guitar intro, an old school “Uggh,” some “Khold” kind of groove and a Viking-like choir. This track really stands out, my favorite track. Calling out the opener and the closer as my favorites, but the rest is not far behind. If you, like me, loved their previous albums, this is a bit harsher, but without losing their great feeling for melody. 9/10 Harald