Goatsnake--Trampled Under Hoof
Southern Lord 2004
Why a band drops off the face of the Earth at the height of their powers is a mystery that can leave one dazed and confused. That's exactly the path Goatsnake's story took. Mercifully, after years of silence since their critically acclaimed Flower Of Disease album, the band are back with Trampled Under Hoof. The results prove Goatsnake's best days may still be ahead of them.
Goatsnake always had it all over the competition in that they were able to incorporate enough groove into what they were doing to appease "stoner rockers," while never forsaking traditional doom or losing that audience. To a great extent, this is still true of the band on Trampled Under Hoof. However, that doom metal power is perhaps stonger here than it has been in the band's past. Essentially, what you're getting on this disc is a sound and feel somewhere between their first album and the stuff from the Burning Witch split--no one will accuse this of the bluesisms found on Flower Of Disease, which is fine. Trampled Under Hoof is an awe-inspiring, straightforward, triumphant reassertion of intent.
For newbies or those who by some fluke missed out until now, the bonus tracks of Goatsnake covering "Burial At Sea" by Saint Vitus and the Black Oak Arkansas classic "Hot Rod" will prove nice additions to Trampled Under Hoof. Still, the discs those tracks were taken from (the aforementioned split with Burning Witch, and the Rise 13 compilation, respectively) are essential for anyone even remotely interested in this genre and should be tracked down, regardless of these inclusions, by those who don't own them. This slab is really all about the new Goatsnake material and does it ever deliver. You know you're in for an ass whooping five seconds into the opening "Portraits Of Pain"--a point further driven home by the sick stutter riff Greg Anderson pulls out leading into the bridge section. The assault continues on "Black Cat Bone"; the collection's most driving track is sure to be a hit with the "stoner" crowd. Finally, the last of the new material, "Juniors Jam," manages to find the perfect balance between doom and groove, starting with a crushing Vitus-fied intro and giving way to unrelenting tilt-a-whirl riffage.
It has been far too long since the world was blessed with a new Goatsnake outing. Let's hope the guys keep the ball Trampled Under Hoof has set in motion rolling. No one else comes close to pulling this stuff off as well as Goatsnake--all the pretenders who tried to fill that void in their wake proved that. This disc is further assertion of that fact. Another winner from the masters.
Score this CD directly from SOUTHERN LORD
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