Storming the Gates

So, Goat Horn. A Canadian band that rocks like it's still the late seventies. They do really sound like they wouldn't have been the least bit out of place during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. This is unfortunately a bit of a weakness. They're style isn't particularly unique or imaginative. The only thing they've got going for themselves there is that they're doomier than your standard NWOBHM band. Still, despite this, Goat Horn is fun enough to listen to that all this can be forgiven.

The album starts off with a strange shrieking sort of noise that slowly escalates, and then we start of with the doomy riffing of the opening track, Gates of Oppression. This song pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the album. The doom riffs are mixed in with faster riffs that come in later in the song, and this is really what most of the album is guitar-wise. Doom riffs + NWOBHM riffs. It makes for an excellent combo, and with the low budget production, it really does sound like it could have been recorded in 1979. So, the riffs are nice, however most of the solos are fairly uninteresting. They're not bad, just rather insignificant. I heard them, and then forgot about them. Goat Horn's guitarist will probably never be considered an amazing guitarist, but there's not too much of a focus on solos, so it's not a problem.

As for the other instruments, the drums and bass, there’s not really much to say about them. The drummer does his job well keeping the beat. He provides some nice banging and thudding noises. The bass usually follows the guitar, so it doesn’t really stand out much. Like the drums, it simply does its job, and nothing more.

The vocals are very fun and raw. The singer has a good rough voice that suits the music very well. He doesn't have much range, and that hinders him sometimes when he tries to pull off some screams. The singer generally sticks to his rough vocal style, but a few times he switches over to cleaner singing. Honestly, I don't like it. His clean voice simply isn't good. It lacks any real power. The few clean screams he tries to do usually fall flat. One of them on the song Final Sentence/Final Sentenced just fades off in a pathetic and lackluster way. The man simply doesn't do clean singing well, so it's good that he mostly uses his rough voice.

There's a short little interlude song called Storming In that's only 29 seconds long. It feels rather pointless, and I really wish bands would stop throwing in these sorts of songs. They're rarely interesting. I know Black Sabbath started doing it back on Master of Reality, but that doesn't mean everyone else has to do it.

There's a few weak spots here and there (the previously mentioned interlude track and one song that's a cover) but it's still a fun album for anyone who likes their metal fun and old school. The songs Fortress Doomed, Gates of Oppression, To the Cliff, and Rotten Roll are the best on the album. So overall, I'd say it's a good album, and worth a listen to anyone who prefers metal done the old-school way.

I saw Goat Horn live before I really knew anything about them and it was basically a life-changing experience......I felt like I was reliving all the 80s metal glory of my older cousins from when I was like seven years old. I bought this album at the show and it did not, and does not, disappoint even marginally, even after more than twenty listens the first week (I counted) and several months since.

A chugging mix of doom metal and NWOBHM, this trio really sound like just plain "heavy metal," combining styles in a way that recalls the naivety of a pre-subgenre metal scene. They have obvious references in Maiden and Sabbath but sound as fresh as that combination might have in 1983. Soaring solos, a thrashing drummer with two bass drums (no double pedals!!), and quaint but awesome vocals that are intelligibly-growled highlight almost every song, which all seem too short even as most clock in near six minutes. The lyrics mostly deal with overcoming tyranny and uniting in booze and metal in the best Manowar or Judas Priest styles, and you will probably find yourself pounding your fist in the air to one or two tracks at least. The riffage overall is huge and varies nicely in tempo from Canadian Winter doom to even the quick thrash of "Re-Animation," a cover by fellow Canadian thrashers Sacrifice. And they even have the requisite collage inside the cover! Metal Rules!

The only complaint that I could possibly fathom about this album is that after VERY repeated listening, some of the solos start to wear out a bit, especially in the otherwise standout track, "Fortress Doomed." Otherwise, this album is basically single-handedly responsible for me (and several of my friends) going back and discovering a wealth of awesome 80s metal. If you ever fantasized zebra print or mullets you need to own this album!