Over the years I've never really grasped what all the fuss was about in regards to those purveyors of US black metal, the New Orleans horde that call themselves Goatwhore. Sure, most of their releases have been pretty solid examples of brutal black 'n' roll, thrash, and whatever else from the kitchen sink that they can throw into their black metal stew, but there just never seems to be that 'wow' factor happening to make them true stars of the genre. Sadly, Blood for the Master for the most part continues that trend. This is a good record, make no mistake about it, featuring 10 songs filled with hateful lyrics and vocals, frenzied riffing, and a pounding bottom end with plenty of groove. "When Steel and Bone Meet" takes the formula made famous by Immortal, throws in a catchy chorus, and the end result is a thrashy black metal anthem that is a sure fire success story waiting to happen at your next heavy metal keg party. "Parasitic Scriptures of the Sacred World" dives closer to the death metal camp, and is actually a pretty slammin' slice of heaviness, while "In Deathless Tradition" has a mix of fast tremolo picking and groovy riffs that will please any fan of modern day Satyricon.
It's hard not to be swept away by the commanding brutality of "Judgement of the Bleeding Crown", a real crushing track that perfectly combines black & death metal, and the relentless riffing mixed with Opeth styled atmosphere on "Embodiment of This Bitter Chaos" is extremely well done. As you start to get towards the back end of the CD however, you start to hear riffs, tempos, and arrangements that begin sounding awfully familiar, and that's where Blood for the Master falters. Half of the CD is like a rehash of itself, which ain't necessarily a bad thing as much of this is pretty solid and pulverizing US black 'n' roll, but Goatwhore have been at this for quite a while now, and it's about damn time they give us something that elevates them past 'solid' and into upper realms of the genre. The band has plenty of fans who will no doubt eat this up, and they should, but for those still on the fence it's more of the same…pretty good, not great.
Track Listing
1) Collapse in Eternal Worth
2) When Steel and Bone Meet
3) Parasitic Scriptures of the Sacred World
4) In Deathless Tradition
5) Judgement of the Bleeding Crown
6) Embodiment of This Bitter Chaos
7) Beyond the Spell of Discontent
8) Death to the Architects of Heaven
9) An End to Nothing
10) My Name is Frightful Among the Believers
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