Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Urgehal - Goatcraft Torment - 2006 - Southern Lord

Track Listing 1. Goatcraft Torment 2. Risus Sardonius 3. Antireligios 4. Dodsmarsi til Helveti 5. Satanic Black Metal in Hell 6. Nefastus Nex Necis 7. Gathered Under the Horns 8. Selvinordssalme 9. Sentiment of Chaos 10. Et steg naermere Lucifer

"This is Satanic Black Metal" is the bottle of champagne that christens Goat Craft Torment. When a band starts an album off with that statement, it is safe to say they are comfortable with their place in this world, and Urgehal certainly sound as if they are. Well-executed, ugly, fast, and nasty, Goat Craft Torment is a slab of gritty black metal that deftly avoids falling into the overly-repetitious and minimalist snares many bands in the genre fall victim to in the interest of coming off as “kult.”

The opening title track is a prime example of what Urgehal do best: mix up tempos, annunciate vocals, and play songs with memorable parts and vocal lines while still remaining filthy to the core. From the rumbling bass, the meaty guitars, full drum sound, and vocals that are absolutely dripping with spite, Goatcraft Torment is a potent shot in the arse to a genre where so many tread the same water in the same pattern without doing anything remotely interesting. Urgehal may not be breaking new ground, but they are writing and releasing material that is a good head above many of their contemporaries when it comes to quality and intensity. Goatcraft Torment is an infinitely listenable album that will give purists nothing to complain about, and one that harnesses much of the attitude and catchiness of classic old thrash without diluting the pure black metal forumla.


--Al Kikuras 05.09.07