Ah, yes, December. Finally, that time of the year when everyone cares about other people and shows how they appreciate those exact people which they have taken for granted the entire year around by showering them in meaningful gifts and presents. I have already reached that period in my life where receiving kitchen utensils and dust-collectors (knick knacks you put on the shelf as they have no practical value and you’re forced to dust them constantly) is the only way to go. I mean, why would a woman my age want or even need anything else in life, besides the confirmation the people you have invested the most time into have no clue what you want?
Because of that I was almost taken aback when the new Methgoat release just appeared out of nowhere. Methgoat have been one of the better kept secrets in the underground and ever since they first appeared, they were the closest thing to incarnation of Chaos. Everything about them screamed, growled, shrieked Chaos. ‘This is exactly the gift the tiny, quiet girl in the back of this methed and coked up underground should get herself.’
But, there’s obviously a twist in the plot here (every good movie and usually the book which the movie was created after has at least one of those). At the first listen to the ‘Sadistic Goat Master’ it was obvious this is not the band I was so excited to hear after years of hoping for them to release something. It has been nearly 6 years since they released anything and at that point they surely went out with a bang. Or, just a typical day at the Methgoat realm we were familiar with.
I’ve been mingling around here awhile, so the fact bands on this not-a-scene thing are painfully unreliable is not really some sort of a shock. Very few of the bands in the so called underground stretch beyond a demo or two, even less of them ever release a full length, play live outside of their basement etc. At this point it usually seems a random group of people who hate each other got drunk one time, jammed, ran out of drugs and ceased to exist and none of it would ever get noticed, if they weren’t talking shit about each other in the years to come. I mean, I understand it’s not human to maintain the sort of intensity this music requires to be top notch without drugs… but there are several stages of drug use. At first it’s all fun and games, and then suddenly darkness creeps in. Anxiety. Depression. Paranoia. Self-harm. Misery. The pointlessness of existence… and sooner or later, those will show themselves in your art.
As said, this is a different band from the one I expected. Years of certain activities, a myriad of lineup changes, relocations and, mind me as I’m just a no one at the whole show and have no clue what the hell else happened to this band. The sheer chaos they incarnated half a decade ago has turned into an almost bland mixture of black metal and synthesized noise, which can nowadays be found on literally every corner and sold a dime a dozen.
It’s not bad, not at all, but this is not the fucked up, methed up chaos it once was. It’s becoming too similar to a zillion other projects which are there just to take up space and I’m almost certain I don’t like it. Still, it still looks better on my shelf than some dust collector I’d get as a present from someone who allegedly cares about me. And, it also sounds a lot better.
