Year of the Goat – The Unspeakable (Napalm Records)

album by:
Year of the Goat
Version:
cd
Price:
£12.99

Reviewed by:
Rating:
4
On 8 October 2015
Last modified:7 October 2015

Summary:

From Prog to Metal this has it all and everything in between

https://flic.kr/p/zx4YWa

A somewhat unusual name which conjures up images of men in corpse paint, axes, hammers and the usual paraphernalia suited to such a name. This is far from the truth. The band hail from Sweden and formed in 2006. To date have released a series of eps and now this is the second full length. It gets down to business immediately with a brief intro to a 12 minute epic with heavy prog leanings bordering on Mastodon weight at times. YOTG have a musical sensibility that draws on many genres from the jangly guitar sounds of 60s garage bands to the mellotron driven hard rock of the likes of Purple, Coven and Black Widow. The music has many shades and can go from the downright miserable to very cheery and uplifting on a track like “The Wind”. Vocally it has the ambition of Queen harmonies and at times Matt Bellamy could be referenced. The production is top notch with even spread given to each instrument which can be difficult when you have 2 guitars and keyboards jostling for position. This record requires time to digest as there is such diversity to be soaked up and subtleties to catch with repeated listens. In terms of a fanbase these guys are going to cross many boundaries from prog rock through metal and even may appeal to the outer realms of goth rock fans. Well worth exploring.

Tracklisting
1. All He Has Read
2. Pillars of the South
3. The Emma
4. Vermin
5. World Of Wonder
6. The Wind
7. Black Sunlight
8. The Sermon
9. Riders Of Vultures

Band Members
Thomas Sabbathi -vocals, guitar
Marcus Lundberg – guitar
Don Palmroos – guitar
Fredrik Hellerström -drums
Tobias Resch – bass
Pope – mellotron, vocal

From Prog to Metal this has it all and everything in between

About Dave McCallum

Old enough to know better. I have been a metalhead for a long time, I am a lifelong collector of vinyl and cds, the more the better.