Review by Fernando on December 21, 2021.

When it comes to war metal, aka "bestial black metal", Canada is the first country many seasoned metalheads think about mainly because of seminal subgenre pioneers Blasphemy. After thirty years Canadian war metal tradition continues strong, as proven by Guelph, Ontario warband Goatscrote and their 2020 debut LP We Shall Orgy Upon The Blood Of Angels.

Goatscrote, follow the tried and true path of war metal with demonic guttural growls with added effects, frenzied and speedy riffs, blistering drums and a thick bass heavy sound, albeit with one very significant divergence that not many of their peers followed, which is how surprisingly thrashy their music is for a war metal album. The songs have classic thrash leanings which in turn make the otherwise chaotic and dissonant style to have a groove and structured dynamics since the band slow down and have breakdowns in between all the aggression which is a very welcomed change of pace in a subgenre that’s often derided for being too one dimensional. The instrumentation also strikes the balance of primitive aggression and dynamic groove. The guitars and drums are the obvious main standouts, while the bass serves more as a complement to the guitars but it does get its moments in the spotlight on the slower and mid-paced tracks. While the vocals are the only constant, meaning they’re very one note but it works overall. While nothing is outstanding, its decent and effective enough, and at 25 minutes in length this is an evenly paced experience and you leave feeling empowered and satisfied.

However, while Goatscrote do make a decent war metal album with some variations to the formula, that’s pretty much all they do here, and despite the short length, there’s a very real issue with monotony and repetition, especially on repeated listens. This isn’t entirely on the band, as war metal is a subgenre that’s very unadventurous to begin with, either you get it right from the get go and go from there, or you just rely on riffs and speed to carry your entire music. Goatscrote certainly did take a different approach and I’d be tempted to call this a thrash metal album with war metal vocals, but again, that’s pretty much all the band does here. Granted they do it well enough, and for a debut record this is very decent, but having the one trick to stand out isn’t enough for me to get invested as I’ve heard better elsewhere.

Overall Goatscrote are a decent enough band with the right ingredients to develop into a truly unique war metal band in what seems to be subgenre that’s filled to the brim with Revenge and Blasphemy clones. That potential rests solely on the band itself though, and it's up to them if they go beyond the tried-and-true path of this particular subgenre. 

Best tracks: 'Triumph Of The Heretics', 'Hymns Of Warfare Worship'

Rating: 6.7 out of 10