Black metal itself is quite the chaotic soundscape, but the bands which are under the banner of the so called war metal, or bestial black metal, amp up the extremity and noise to a even higher gauge of violence. Even so, it does not make the sub-genre wholly inaccessible for those already used to black and death metal and the latest record by brazilian war metal band Goatpenis is a great entry into the segment. It has quite a diversified array of influences, sounding specially like other black/death peers such as Behemoth and Belphegor, but also manage to keep themselves authentic and fresh.
I do understand the motto of "fuck all the rules" that applies to all of extreme metal, but Goatpenis, if intended as a middle finger to everyone, is nothing but a cringeworthy edgy name. Might as well be a reason why so many people willingly keep these guys off their radars, but that could also be the intention behind the name. Nevertheless, a stupid alias can't change the fact that this unholy power trio from Blumenau are actually very talented and professional, understanding what really kicks ass when we're talking about good extreme music. The production values of this album are also worthy mentioning. It's way more refined than your usual lo-fi black metal, but not in a way that cuts off the potency from the instruments or the vocals. Instead, we're greeted by a tremendous bomb barrage, with the might and vigor so needed in this kind of art.
The first song, "Torrid Screaming Trumpet", is a Nile-like warfare banger, with the gimmicky but satisfying intro that you could get from "Ramses, Bringer of War", by Greenville's ithyphallic kings. Apart from a few eastern-sounding guitar pieces, or the whole brutality presented, not much else reminds me of Nile, though. This song, as most others in this album, reeks of modern battlefields and the desperation that follows it. The overall musical direction of this first track actually made me feel this nihilistic approach to the reflections of war, all the casualties, traumas and sense of world destruction so abounding.
That was just to get into the overall mood, though. A big chunk of the content here is an array of relentless, skull-crushing, short-length bangers. The second one, for instance, called "Eternal Cremation Ritual", reminded me of Belphegor's brutality but in a short burst. Right after that, "Severe Homicidal Exacerbation" comes with a few eastern stunts akin to the first track's melody, but holding the same furious, short-lived blistering of the previous song. Only the title-track, that comes right after and also the last track of the album, Inhuman Scars, bear more of that longer, slow-cooked temper. The others are all pretty hasty, objective, but no, they are not forgettable or bland. Instead, you get lots of good, sometimes droning riffs, a pretty impressive performance by the late singer Sabbaoth and a less stellar(in my opinion) but still quite satisfying hammering on the drum kits, ranging from the marching intros to the classic and demanded blast beats.
I liked all of the tracks very much, finding some of them a little less remarkable, while others are very pleasant(Torrid Screaming Trumpet, Decapitation Philosophy, Aortic Ammo Eject, Inhuman Scars, just to mention a few). The general feeling that stenches from the whole outing is a mixture of both a nihilistic melancholy and full-on despite for war and destruction. Beginning at the explicit, hostile black-and-white cover art, this is a very intense experience and, if the band ever decides to not record anything else after their leader's demise, it's still a solid swansong.
Sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScoKpiLyerY
