Review by Felix on August 26, 2024.

Goats Of Doom have already released six albums, but it still makes sense to get back to their debut from the year 2012. “Lost in Time and Void” is a debut which combines a fine sense for musicality with the ugliness of black metal in a very mature manner. The song patterns are not predictable, the band has a close eye on dynamic arrangements and even though they do not define a completely new taste of black metal, they give free rain to their creative thoughts. The result are seven pretty songs with an average length of nearly seven minutes. This alone indicates their self-confidence. Finally, they do not beat around the bush – the opener sounds the alarm right from the beginning.

“Awakening of R’lyeh” is a dense, wild and demonic start with a fine oriental intermezzo and some discreet piano tones. The song holds both breathtakingly fast parts and melodic sequences, I am really surprised about the masterful arrangement. Is this Dimmu Borgir in a better form than they ever had? “In the Valley ov Madness” is the name of the next outburst of exciting wildness. Once again, the band does not shy away from utterly fast sections, but the track never sounds nervous, hysteric or even amateurish. The riffs – fanatic as well as fantastic – and another short oriental interlude add the final touch. Yet I also must mention the production. “Lost in Time and Void” shines with a very direct and right-in-your-face sound, well defined, balanced, transparent and timeless.

The very adventurous double strike at the beginning sets the bar high for the following five pieces. But Goats of Doom do not fall victim to their own standards. “A Shadow out ov Time, Whisperer in Darkness” builds tension from the very first second. Ominous guitars entice the listener to enter dangerous territory. A perfectly flowing song is the reward. Once again, uncompromising speed and musical brilliance go hand in hand and the raspy voice of the lead singer adds another edgy and very strong component. The Goats integrate and combine a remarkable number of different ideas in each and every song, but they do not overload them. This even applies to the monumental “Tuhkasta nousee totuus”. Anyone who doesn't fall completely under the spell of black metal during this wild ride must be deaf, idiotic or both together. It’s a great experience to discover this track with all its different parts, various nuances and its inner strength.

No doubt about it, “Lost in Time and Void” is a little gem of the genre. Perhaps the silent outro is a little bit too long (but with a nice, unexpected ending – I don’t want to say too much in this context) and the two songs whose name I did not mention in this review are five percent weaker than the other ones, but come on, these are negligible minor details. Goats of Doom do not follow the icy, raw line of many Finnish bands, but their voluminous approach just works here (too bad that the second album could not confirm of the class of the debut).

Rating: 8.4 out of 10