Artist: Weregoat
Country: USA
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
Formats: 7″ EP
Year: 2023
Ahh, Weregoat. The ever-cheerful trio that has been ostentatiously hitting the road since the late 00s is making themselves heard again. Although their previous (and only) full-length album dates back to 2017, last year we were treated to the 6-track ‘The Devil’s Lust’ 12″ EP and the split 12″ EP with Eggs of Gomorrh. That the gents are in the mood for it again is clear from this latest work, which follows up the two releases from 2022 relatively quickly after all. And in case you lost track of them for a while, with ‘Cunting Darkness’ they add another musical masterpiece full of sophisticated ingenuity to their already impressive palmares, just like they always have…
While the band never strayed from their musical path one inch, pretty much close to a band like Archgoat both in terms of musical content as well as imagery and ideology, there was this slight shift in the band’s sound audible on their previous recordings. Minimally perceptible perhaps, but the much darker sound of their early recordings, such as on their split 12″ with Diocletian and the ‘Slave Bitch Of The Black Ram Master’ 12″ EP, has slowly been replaced by a sound that is increasingly leaning towards that of Sarcófago’s ‘INRI’. The brutal darkness and depth of the earlier sound has given way to something that sounds much sharper, and therefore arguably more violent. ‘Cunting Darkness’ is a clear continuation of that movement, paying homage not only to Sarcófago, but also definitely to the earliest work of Impaled Nazarene and even the somewhat more Black Metal-oriented sound of Deströyer 666 early in their career. Together, this makes Weregoat anno 2023 sound as scruffy and perverted as ever, but have clearly adopted a somewhat more unique sound. But those who loved their primitive pummelling should not worry, there truly is still no refined musicality anywhere to be found. If you loved Weregoat before, there’s zero chance of disappointment with ‘Cunting Darkness’.
It may not be a huge coincidence that the cover of this 7″ EP is pencilled by Rok, adding some extra kick to the early 90s feel. Weregoat show that they are still top of the league in this genre with this ten minutes of raging, whammy-bar-filled frenzy, cutting a long story short: ‘Cunting Darkness’ is still a celebration of depraved, bad taste.
