Description
Black vinyl with gatefold cover. Limited 333 numbered copies
Goatwhore occupy a singular niche in modern metal: beloved by many, but also mourned by a non-trivial demographic who bemoan the fact that they’re never quite as heavy or evil as their name would suggest. Journalists frequently describe them as blackened death metal when their sound really isn’t that brutal even by old thrash standards. Those expecting blast beats and incomprehensible cookie monster vocals will likely come away unenthused. If anything there’s an emphasis on groove here that only tangentially connects with actual death metal on the fringes of later Entombed and Carcass (though emphatically sans the technicality of the latter). In short, Goatwhore are content to rock your ass and don’t aspire to much more than that. Constricting Rage Of The Merciless storms out of the gate with this exact purpose seemingly in mind, the fired up propulsion of Poisonous Existence In Reawakening establishing itself fairly quickly as one of the band’s faster songs before settling into a more relaxed, yet even catchier groove. This album shows that the band is willing to mix it up a bit while not really straying all that far from the formula that’s worked for them thus far. With a beefier production – courtesy of Eric Rutan – and greater range of styles present, Constricting Rage Of The Merciless definitely stakes a claim as the new high water mark of the group’s work thus far. Just barely, though, and some fans may prefer the more thematically cohesive restraint of Blood For The Master. Either way, this is the closest Goatwhore have come to bottling the blistering energy of their live show on album, though it also goes a long way toward proving that they’re unlikely to ever entirely get there.
Track list:
1. Poisonous Existence In Reawakening
2. Unraveling Paradise
3. Baring Teeth For Revolt
4. Reanimated Sacrifice
5. Heavens Crumbling Walls Of Pity
6. Cold Earth Consumed In Dying Flesh
7. FBS
8. Nocturnal Conjuration Of The Accused
9. Schadenfreude
10. Externalize This Hidden Savagery