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Band Name: Goat Of Mendes
Album Name: Book Of Shadows, A
Rating: 2 / 5 User Rating: 3 / 5
Label: Source Of Deluge Records
Buy Album: Amazon.com
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Tracklist
1. Drawing Down The Moon (Intro)
2. The Sabbatic Goat (Blessed Be)
3. My Book Of Shadows
4. Discordia
5. Staff And Chalice, Sword And Stone
6. Guardian Spirit
7. The Shaman
8. ...And Inanna Stood Unveiled
9. Children Of Aradia
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Here you will discover some fast paced German Pagan metal which focuses on themes of witchcraft and occultism. The vocals are delivered in a Pagan chant reminiscent of Viking metal at times, while at others, launching into "Evil Dead" style vocal doubling. The production here is extremely lacking, with very few mids to punch up the mix. Also, the vocals could be faded back into the mix a touch, they are a bit too upfront for this style of metal. Guitarists Marco and Larz accomplish some very fast, scalar riffing that is propelled by the double kick onslaught of Ralle. Unfortunately, "A Book Of Shadows" oftentimes sounds a bit more like a demo than an actual record, due to the subpar production. This could be attributed to the fact that the bass duties were performed on this record by the guitarist , Marco, and the band just decided the lower end tones were not as important to their sound. Vocalist Surtur does a great job of screaming, but his singing voice at times leaves a bit to be desired. "My Book Of Shadows" includes some impressive female vocals courtesy of Maia that while revealing a strong German accent, do much to enhance the atmosphere of the music. She also provides some grim vocals as well, which brings further dynamic to the band's performance. It is uncertain whether the sounds on this track are an actual violin or a keyboardist, as no player is credited with these sounds, but the sounds do enhance the song, making it sound a bit mediaeval. "Staff and Chalice, Sword and Stone" is a complex, dark symphony that is initiated by elf-like singing and later on, fueled by a forward thrusting rhythm. Goat Of Mendes show a great deal of potential here and they manage a solid performance, it would be interesting to see what this group could with a better studio budget and a producer that has a better ear for this type of music. Fans of earlier Mercyful Fate could find this to be of interest if they can get past the album's sound, but on the whole, this album suffers tremendously as a result of the poor audio execution
Review by: EF
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