If, as a newcomer to the Black Metal front, you want to make a statement about how your music sounds and where your influences come from, you start your first release with a cover. That’s what Anuridae, the man behind Goat Bath, must have thought, as this first 4-track EP kicks off with the Silencer-cover ‘Sterile Nails And Thunderbowels’.
That’s not the only thing that immediately stands out about ‘Requiem’, allegedly, in addition to the regular instrumentation, samples of a real goat (called Baaarnabas) have been used – best heard on the last track, ‘Melancholic Dream’. But it would be a shame to see this only as a gimmick, because the music is far from bad! The fast, sharp Black Metal and the high-pitched screeches are really icy and give a grim atmosphere. The dreamy parts by piano or guitar are nicely arranged and give a hypnotic feeling. Indeed musically it is not far from Silencer, in fact I have never heard a band that has come so close to that unique sound. And that, as far as I’m concerned, is a compliment.
I never thought bathing a goat sounded like this… Glad that after almost 20 years of reviewing you can still be surprised.
