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Goatsnake - I
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The first thing that strikes you about this long-awaited Goatsnake LP is the unique cover art. A truly remarkable unreconstructed rock album cover if ever I saw one. This homage to dodgy biker t-shirts immediately distinguishes this album from the crowd. Here we have an album with artwork that does not scream, "Look how cool this album is, please buy me!", but rather makes you think, "What the hell is that?" Immediately the casual buyer (and certain people who should know better: "...one might easily be tempted to ignore it purely because the sleeve art is so bad. Clearly it's based on one of those godawful old centre-spreads from American biker rag ‘Easy Riders. It's blend of macho Confederate-Viking bollocks with a poorly scrawled scantily clad wench on the back and is guaranteed to irritate just about anyone whose knuckles don't touch the ground when they're standing up." Mörat, Kerrang!, May 8, 1999. Actually, no Mörat,
we use our heads and consider why the cover looks like it does. Hey, you never know, it might even be some kind of joke) is put off by the shameless Heavy Metal nature of the art, leaving those who actually want some kind of Manowar type thing, and those who wisely think that there has got to be more to this album than that. And they would be absolutely spot on. Goatsnake are something of a doom supergroup, with the line up listed on the inlay as Greg Rogers: Battery (ex The Obsessed), Guy Pinhas: Bottum (also ex The Obsessed), Pete Stahl: Throat & Harp (ex Wool and Scream, current eARTHLINGS?, sometime Desert Sessioner) and Greg Anderson: Sunn Amps (ex erm I dunno, I'm sure someone will tell me). Such esteemed personnel means that anticipation of this debut has been great, especially following the storming "Mower" as heard on the "Welcome to Meteor City" and "Stoned Revolution" compilations and such high expectations are not disappointed. The album begins with a distorted roar and then launches headlong into a head down Sabbath charge on opener "Slippin the Stealth" (quote from the inlay: Goatsnake uses Sunn Amps, Gibson Guitars & Basses and Sabbath Riffs exclusively because they want the best) and what follows is pure stoner satisfaction. The band gels superbly and they have achieved a magnificent, thick, warm sound with the help of Count Schneeberger(?). This is however, no run of the mill stoner album, as there is huge variety to be found here. At all times when listening to "I" there is a sense that Goatsnake are not approaching things in a straightforward way. There is innovation and intelligence here, despite the LP's dumbed down appearance as shown through the variety of tracks on offer. We get the aforementioned Black Sabbath tinged "Slippin the Stealth"; the bizarrely chugging "IV" (again, let's play spot the Sabbath influence) with it's lazy sounding, behind-the-beat rhythm, with a certain Swans ambience; the blatantly Melvinsesque "Dog Catcher" (hell, Count Buzzo produced it, so if it can't be Melvinsesque, what can?); and the almost Alice in Chains feel of the slow burning "What Love Remains". The only quibble therefore, is with the album's brevity. At thirty-six minutes, it's all over way too soon, especially when you consider that six of those minutes are taken up by "Mower" which has been released twice before. This is an album that absorbs you and with it being so short, you really do need the repeat button. (9) For further info on this album check Rise Above Records |
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