Review GOATWHORE ‘Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven’

‘Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven’ is the title of the new Goatwhore album, a record with an intro and eleven massive metal anthems. Album number eight of the American metallers is dark and furious. Once again the quartet showcases their very own mix of thrash, death and black metal, all with a sprinkling of sludge included.

The new album begins with a gloomy intro, in which you can feel the evil rising up. ‘Invocation 3’, so the name of the intro, leads into ‘Born of Satan’s Flesh’ and quickly it becomes obvious that the guys from New Orleans have once again managed to deliver raging extreme metal. Already the first song contains all trademarks of the band.

‘Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven’ is an unpolished record with rough edges. At the same time Goatwhore never loses the perspective. The quartet manages to give a structure to each of these merciless metal wrecking balls, which, together with tight interaction, makes each of the songs a well-crafted composition.

It continues with the raging ‘The Bestowal of Abomination, which has more death metal shares. Once again, it is the filigree and clear leads that form a counterpart to the usual riff thunderstorm. This mix makes ‘Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven’ stand out and gives the longplayer the necessary versatility.

The throbbing ‘Ruinous Liturgy’ is just as powerful as thundering ‘Voracious Blood Fixation’. Towards the end things get really fast again with ‘Nihil’. Almost manic, this frenzied song gets the blood pumping before ‘And I Was Delivered From The Wound Of Perdition’ introduces the final lap. In contrast to ‘Nihil’ the beginning of the song is atmospheric. Angel-like voices are even featured before the song quickly mutates into a thumping metal anthem. Even if the heaviness increases immensely, the track remains atmospheric in large parts. With a slow tempo Goatwhore offer a musical steamroller, which they pinned at the end of the longplayer. It is perhaps the song with the most depth and it is the diabolical vibe which runs like a thread through the closing track. Even as the tempo picks up in the course of the song, the basic atmospheric layout remains intact.

Overall, it can be stated that Goatwhore have an impressive record in the starting blocks. Even if fans had to wait five long years for ‘Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven’ one can now state that the effort was worth it. The four-piece from Louisiana delivers a varied, brutal and at the same time entertaining album. With attention to detail, the group manages to give their sound that special something and for me ‘Angels Hung From the Arches of Heaven’ belongs to the positive metal moments in 2022.