Artist: Goat Semen / Bestial Rites
Country: Peru
Label: Wolfkult Religion
Format: Split 7″ EP
Year: 2025
Two portions of Peruvian perversion, that is what we’re treated with on this split between Goat Semen and Bestial Rites. In one corner, a veteran of the scene that celebrates its 25th anniversary, in the other the band that celebrates their second release. But don’t expect cake and confetti on this one. Just pure, unadulatered primitive South American Death and Black Metal.
Goat Semen offers a live rendition of ‘Prophets of Hell’, a song that originally appeared on the ‘Fuck Christ’ EP from 2024. A slower, almost Doomy intro with a thick Celtic Frost vibe in the guitars led by Erick Neyra’s possessed vocals suddenly bursts into a wild and frantic Blackened Death fury in which Goat Semen decimates the crowd present at the gig. The wild intensity of the music sounds even better in a live setting, although one can argue that the sound of this recording is good enough to have made it to any studio recording of the band. And no doubt, the true fan of the band will welcome this live version with open arms.
Perhaps not the biggest surprise from a band with one prior release, but Bestial Rites offers a brand new track entitled… well, ‘Bestial Rites’ to this split. Also starting off in a slower fashion with accompanying church bells, it nicely connects to the brooding ending of the Goat Semen track. And similarly ‘Bestial Rites’ then explodes, with a thick bass sound, rampaging drums and low growls. Compared to Goat Semen there is a stronger Death Metal tinge, but what clearly unites the bands is unbridled aggression and pure dedication to Extreme Metal. In particular the dynamic drum work by former Anal Vomit drummer Toñín Destructor is excellent, but overall the menacing and frantic Death Metal is a more than worthy addition to the Peruvian Extreme Metal scene.
I don’t think anyone that clicked on this review really needed me to tell you this, but here it goes anyway: If you love the sound of South American Death/Black Metal, then you want to own this Split. With Goat Semen it shouldn’t be a surprise what to expect, and with Bestial Rites you can expect a similar quality: Honest, passionate devotion to old school Extreme Metal.
