Review by JD on April 28, 2012.

Instrumental albums can be hard to digest for some, a necessity for others. I have loved some and found others to be overdone and made me fall asleep from boredom. Minnasota based instrumental Doom/Stoner act Zebulon Pike is one of those.

Going instrumental after a line up change, was a choice that the band never once seemed to regret. Mixing Doom, Stoner, Post Rock and some wicked speedier metal they are unafraid to use any style of metal to meld there sound, and to slam it right into your face. Musical broad and incredibly heavy, they deliver the doomier goods, yet it seems lost and that is where they lose me.

With most tracks clocking in at over ten minutes long, they give you a musical ride through a musical expression of all human emotions. They do this to a point, but I have to say that getting a vocalist and great lyrics would launch this amazingly musical band into the metallic elite. It is sad when people have such talent, but the vehicle is equivalent to a broken down Lada car - useless. I like the music to a point, but with what I think is missing, and I hope that this band will heed this suggestion, and fast.

I think they need a very unique and powerful vocalist, sort of like Paul Kuhr of Novembers Doom, but perhaps with a lower vocal style that would put Zebulon Pike into a higher plane. Even Yngwie Malmsteen, who had one of the best instrumental albums of all time ("Far Beyond The Sun") changed to having a vocalist and made it work... and he was amazing.

This is a nice musically sound instrumental album but limiting to both the members, and the metal public. I hope that they take my little critique and just think about it, a vocalist as individual as they are would make them unstoppable. They are their own worse enemy.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality:9
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Review by JD on April 28, 2012.

Instrumental albums can be hard to digest for some, a necessity for others. I have loved some and found others to be overdone and made me fall asleep from boredom. Minnasota based instrumental Doom/Stoner act Zebulon Pike is one of those.

Going instrumental after a line up change, was a choice that the band never once seemed to regret. Mixing Doom, Stoner, Post Rock and some wicked speedier metal they are unafraid to use any style of metal to meld there sound, and to slam it right into your face. Musical broad and incredibly heavy, they deliver the doomier goods, yet it seems lost and that is where they lose me.

With most tracks clocking in at over ten minutes long, they give you a musical ride through a musical expression of all human emotions. They do this to a point, but I have to say that getting a vocalist and great lyrics would launch this amazingly musical band into the metallic elite. It is sad when people have such talent, but the vehicle is equivalent to a broken down Lada car - useless. I like the music to a point, but with what I think is missing, and I hope that this band will heed this suggestion, and fast.

I think they need a very unique and powerful vocalist, sort of like Paul Kuhr of Novembers Doom, but perhaps with a lower vocal style that would put Zebulon Pike into a higher plane. Even Yngwie Malmsteen, who had one of the best instrumental albums of all time ("Far Beyond The Sun") changed to having a vocalist and made it work... and he was amazing.

This is a nice musically sound instrumental album but limiting to both the members, and the metal public. I hope that they take my little critique and just think about it, a vocalist as individual as they are would make them unstoppable. They are their own worse enemy.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7
Originality:9
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Review by Alex on December 12, 2019.

Heavily influenced by Profanatica and Archgoat; Goatblood, propelled by the German duo of Reverend Slayer and Satanic Death Vulva, release their third full length bestial attack under the guide of Dunkelheit Produktionen. They've been around for a while now, since 2013 to be exact and I remember hearing their second album Veneration of Armageddon in 2016 that while good, was to an extent overlooked by a scene already swamped in savage excrementia from both pioneering and freshly cut bands.

If you're more than just familiar with the genre this kind of thing can get tiring, but for someone tip-toeing the border between extreme and commercial metal, its fair enough to understand they would be attracted regardless of how unchanging the methodology may be. The music here is as I would expect, primal drumming, great guttural vocals and riffs to fill the plate of the average black/death listener. Those are all great to have in the arsenal, but 45 minutes is much too long for something this abrasive and structurally unmodified. 30 minutes would have been ideal for Apparition of Doomsday given there's not much occurring within the department of variety. I take because it’s been 3 years since the last full-length record, Goatblood saw it necessary to take this step in their catalog, and tack on 15 more minutes of material as a bonus perhaps.

From 'Goat Order' through 'Flood of Roaches' you'll get bestial, dark and untamed recordings put together proficiently; the rage velocity is high, and the songs make compelling impact, enough to produce headbanging for quite a while. The variation here isn't much but there is by way of doom metal transitions and sudden mid-tempo blasting. The first 9 tracks are the best of the total album, but the latter songs fall a bit short in memorability, they rarely try in offering anything different as they follow the standard path of war metal basics.

However then former side of Apparition of Doomsday carried the load of the work given 'Goat Order', 'Beach of the Dead', 'Exclusion Prevails', 'Flood of Roaches' and 'Ram of Nazareth' are such killer tracks. The thing is Goatblood don't dwell too much on technical this or variety that, they could not give a fuck-less, rather they insist a continuous hostility supplementing new levels of intensity, hence I think it's here they truly make their weaponized talents known. Yes, the guitars could have been used more to encourage replayability than what is already existent, but nothing can be taken away from Goatblood as far as erecting that war metal sound we all hold dear. The samples prelude to 'Beach of the Dead', 'Flood of Roaches', 'Ram of Nazareth' and so forth add a minatory sense to the tunes, that in conjunction with the production helps the impact of the recordings on Apparitions of Doomsday.

What I perceive as excess others may take as necessity to their thirst for such material. Fair enough, but if you're serious about standing out in this already overcrowded war metal territory, you'll need to go a bit further than the archetypal approach. Nonetheless, Apparition of Doomsday is a passionate offering of foulest visions in musical form untouched and unbent by subordination.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on December 12, 2019.

Heavily influenced by Profanatica and Archgoat; Goatblood, propelled by the German duo of Reverend Slayer and Satanic Death Vulva, release their third full length bestial attack under the guide of Dunkelheit Produktionen. They've been around for a while now, since 2013 to be exact and I remember hearing their second album Veneration of Armageddon in 2016 that while good, was to an extent overlooked by a scene already swamped in savage excrementia from both pioneering and freshly cut bands.

If you're more than just familiar with the genre this kind of thing can get tiring, but for someone tip-toeing the border between extreme and commercial metal, its fair enough to understand they would be attracted regardless of how unchanging the methodology may be. The music here is as I would expect, primal drumming, great guttural vocals and riffs to fill the plate of the average black/death listener. Those are all great to have in the arsenal, but 45 minutes is much too long for something this abrasive and structurally unmodified. 30 minutes would have been ideal for Apparition of Doomsday given there's not much occurring within the department of variety. I take because it’s been 3 years since the last full-length record, Goatblood saw it necessary to take this step in their catalog, and tack on 15 more minutes of material as a bonus perhaps.

From 'Goat Order' through 'Flood of Roaches' you'll get bestial, dark and untamed recordings put together proficiently; the rage velocity is high, and the songs make compelling impact, enough to produce headbanging for quite a while. The variation here isn't much but there is by way of doom metal transitions and sudden mid-tempo blasting. The first 9 tracks are the best of the total album, but the latter songs fall a bit short in memorability, they rarely try in offering anything different as they follow the standard path of war metal basics.

However then former side of Apparition of Doomsday carried the load of the work given 'Goat Order', 'Beach of the Dead', 'Exclusion Prevails', 'Flood of Roaches' and 'Ram of Nazareth' are such killer tracks. The thing is Goatblood don't dwell too much on technical this or variety that, they could not give a fuck-less, rather they insist a continuous hostility supplementing new levels of intensity, hence I think it's here they truly make their weaponized talents known. Yes, the guitars could have been used more to encourage replayability than what is already existent, but nothing can be taken away from Goatblood as far as erecting that war metal sound we all hold dear. The samples prelude to 'Beach of the Dead', 'Flood of Roaches', 'Ram of Nazareth' and so forth add a minatory sense to the tunes, that in conjunction with the production helps the impact of the recordings on Apparitions of Doomsday.

What I perceive as excess others may take as necessity to their thirst for such material. Fair enough, but if you're serious about standing out in this already overcrowded war metal territory, you'll need to go a bit further than the archetypal approach. Nonetheless, Apparition of Doomsday is a passionate offering of foulest visions in musical form untouched and unbent by subordination.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on December 12, 2019.

Heavily influenced by Profanatica and Archgoat; Goatblood, propelled by the German duo of Reverend Slayer and Satanic Death Vulva, release their third full length bestial attack under the guide of Dunkelheit Produktionen. They've been around for a while now, since 2013 to be exact and I remember hearing their second album Veneration of Armageddon in 2016 that while good, was to an extent overlooked by a scene already swamped in savage excrementia from both pioneering and freshly cut bands.

If you're more than just familiar with the genre this kind of thing can get tiring, but for someone tip-toeing the border between extreme and commercial metal, its fair enough to understand they would be attracted regardless of how unchanging the methodology may be. The music here is as I would expect, primal drumming, great guttural vocals and riffs to fill the plate of the average black/death listener. Those are all great to have in the arsenal, but 45 minutes is much too long for something this abrasive and structurally unmodified. 30 minutes would have been ideal for Apparition of Doomsday given there's not much occurring within the department of variety. I take because it’s been 3 years since the last full-length record, Goatblood saw it necessary to take this step in their catalog, and tack on 15 more minutes of material as a bonus perhaps.

From 'Goat Order' through 'Flood of Roaches' you'll get bestial, dark and untamed recordings put together proficiently; the rage velocity is high, and the songs make compelling impact, enough to produce headbanging for quite a while. The variation here isn't much but there is by way of doom metal transitions and sudden mid-tempo blasting. The first 9 tracks are the best of the total album, but the latter songs fall a bit short in memorability, they rarely try in offering anything different as they follow the standard path of war metal basics.

However then former side of Apparition of Doomsday carried the load of the work given 'Goat Order', 'Beach of the Dead', 'Exclusion Prevails', 'Flood of Roaches' and 'Ram of Nazareth' are such killer tracks. The thing is Goatblood don't dwell too much on technical this or variety that, they could not give a fuck-less, rather they insist a continuous hostility supplementing new levels of intensity, hence I think it's here they truly make their weaponized talents known. Yes, the guitars could have been used more to encourage replayability than what is already existent, but nothing can be taken away from Goatblood as far as erecting that war metal sound we all hold dear. The samples prelude to 'Beach of the Dead', 'Flood of Roaches', 'Ram of Nazareth' and so forth add a minatory sense to the tunes, that in conjunction with the production helps the impact of the recordings on Apparitions of Doomsday.

What I perceive as excess others may take as necessity to their thirst for such material. Fair enough, but if you're serious about standing out in this already overcrowded war metal territory, you'll need to go a bit further than the archetypal approach. Nonetheless, Apparition of Doomsday is a passionate offering of foulest visions in musical form untouched and unbent by subordination.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on December 12, 2019.

Heavily influenced by Profanatica and Archgoat; Goatblood, propelled by the German duo of Reverend Slayer and Satanic Death Vulva, release their third full length bestial attack under the guide of Dunkelheit Produktionen. They've been around for a while now, since 2013 to be exact and I remember hearing their second album Veneration of Armageddon in 2016 that while good, was to an extent overlooked by a scene already swamped in savage excrementia from both pioneering and freshly cut bands.

If you're more than just familiar with the genre this kind of thing can get tiring, but for someone tip-toeing the border between extreme and commercial metal, its fair enough to understand they would be attracted regardless of how unchanging the methodology may be. The music here is as I would expect, primal drumming, great guttural vocals and riffs to fill the plate of the average black/death listener. Those are all great to have in the arsenal, but 45 minutes is much too long for something this abrasive and structurally unmodified. 30 minutes would have been ideal for Apparition of Doomsday given there's not much occurring within the department of variety. I take because it’s been 3 years since the last full-length record, Goatblood saw it necessary to take this step in their catalog, and tack on 15 more minutes of material as a bonus perhaps.

From 'Goat Order' through 'Flood of Roaches' you'll get bestial, dark and untamed recordings put together proficiently; the rage velocity is high, and the songs make compelling impact, enough to produce headbanging for quite a while. The variation here isn't much but there is by way of doom metal transitions and sudden mid-tempo blasting. The first 9 tracks are the best of the total album, but the latter songs fall a bit short in memorability, they rarely try in offering anything different as they follow the standard path of war metal basics.

However then former side of Apparition of Doomsday carried the load of the work given 'Goat Order', 'Beach of the Dead', 'Exclusion Prevails', 'Flood of Roaches' and 'Ram of Nazareth' are such killer tracks. The thing is Goatblood don't dwell too much on technical this or variety that, they could not give a fuck-less, rather they insist a continuous hostility supplementing new levels of intensity, hence I think it's here they truly make their weaponized talents known. Yes, the guitars could have been used more to encourage replayability than what is already existent, but nothing can be taken away from Goatblood as far as erecting that war metal sound we all hold dear. The samples prelude to 'Beach of the Dead', 'Flood of Roaches', 'Ram of Nazareth' and so forth add a minatory sense to the tunes, that in conjunction with the production helps the impact of the recordings on Apparitions of Doomsday.

What I perceive as excess others may take as necessity to their thirst for such material. Fair enough, but if you're serious about standing out in this already overcrowded war metal territory, you'll need to go a bit further than the archetypal approach. Nonetheless, Apparition of Doomsday is a passionate offering of foulest visions in musical form untouched and unbent by subordination.

Rating: 8 out of 10