Ridiculous band name aside, Rumors of Man is one seriously good record from this German four piece classic metal/doom/stoner act. The dual guitar attack is consistently at the heart of the matter, delivering a non-stop assault of bone crunching riffs and tasty harmony leads, the perfect marriage of Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy, with tunes like "Vulgar Saints" and "Wandering Spectre" containing some serious firepower, thump, and gallop. It's not until "If Crimson Was My Tower" that the bands true doom roots reveal themselves, the song a monolithic journey through dark, cavernous melancholy, the shadow of Candlemass looming large with a slight touch of My Dying Bride. The title cut picks up the pace a bit, the riffs lethal and the drums pounding, while "Where Shadows Hide" ups the stoner ante, a tune that could have been a leftover from Sabbath's Master of Reality sessions. The final two epic length tracks give the listener time to fire up their recreational device and take in the brooding atmosphere, "Dionysian Reveries" starting off like some distant cousin to "Planet Caravan" before the booming riffs & thunderous grooves kick in, and "Stairway Through the Sun" closes out the show with mystical vocals soaring over sledgehammer drumming and massive power chords, the twin guitar harmonies also sharing in the spotlight.
The production on Rumors of Man is outstanding, crisp and powerful, the guitars especially sounding massive and ready to lay waste to anything put in front of them. Goat Explosion are a serious band folks, and if you have even the slightest affinity for epic doom, classic metal, and stoner rock, do not miss this one. Now, about that name....
Track Listing
01. Wandering Spectre 5:05
02. Vulgar Saints 5:33
03. If Crimson Was My Tower 7:52
04. Rumors Of Man 5:16
05. Where Shadows Hide 4:32
06. Dionysian Reveries 9:06
07. Stairway Through The Sun 7:13
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