Weregoat - Unholy Exaltation of Fullmoon Perversity [2011]

Weregoat are among the few black/death metal bands in modern times that not only put their Blasphemy and Archgoat influences clear into play, but manage to create a set of songs that sure, aren’t anything original nor groundbreaking, but are qualitatively proficient and very much worth lending an ear to. A palpable sense of evil and oozing darkness is largely present in their music, both in their grinding riffs and in the bleak, threatening and ominous atmosphere that their songs and the production emit. A three-piece band with silly stage names, “Unholy Exaltation of Fullmoon Perversity” is their debut EP, reigning supreme among their lesser adversaries. While it is quite obvious that these bastards focus on the outright malevolence and utterly unforgiving aspect of black/death (aka war) metal, this 25-minute EP proves to be all that plus more, perhaps sharing more similarities with Archgoat than with any other band.

The cavernous guitar tone agrees with the style of music that Weregoat play, and it elevates that sense of protruding foulness that has become such a standard and a niche in black/death metal bands. The riffs are all catchy in their own right, and all come together to form to-the-point tunes that end just as quickly as they had come. As Archgoat have in their music, so too do Weregoat have lots of controlled variation and different-styled chapters of fast/mid-paced/slow/fast again/etc. etc. riffs. Some doomy riffs that are left to reverberate arrays of menacing chords are sat together next to earsplitting tremolo passages, and these go back and forth to provide for an alternated outcome (it should be said, however, that there are more tremolos than doomy riffs to go around). For example, “Invoke the Black Oblivion” is most likely the doomiest track on the EP, and it’s followed by “Blackwinged Abominator,” a tumbling beast of vicious blast beat savagery, and similarly, it’s preceded by “Abysmal Whore,” a song that starts off with ephemeral doom in its intro, and soon segues into blast beats and oppressive, catchy, fast riffs.

There are some crusty riffs in there as well, perched on top of incredibly raw and bloody mutilations of satanic worship and filth. The vocals are bestial howls and growls of black/death primacy that echo off the walls of their music, working in perfect unison with the vile guitars. You can just picture the poisonous gas of the vocals emanating from dark metal grilles and working their way into the listener’s ears, despite the focus being placed mostly on the guitars. “The Hideous Stench of Occult Slaughter” is about as perfect a description of their music as you’re going to get; and if you’re a long-time black/death metal fan, this is EP isn’t going to surprise you in the least. It'll definitely satisfy you, though, and linger into the core of your blackened, loathing heart. Overall, this is a superb EP, one that stamps their name on my “bands to watch out for” list, and opens up their future to a path that admittedly has been followed before, but one that Weregoat have merely stepped foot upon and are yet to encumber.

85/100

-SmithMetal84