Oh, Goatwhore! Absolutely one of the great names in all of metal. No punches pulled and no real surprises when these guys hit the stage. This is pure death metal performed in the traditional sense. It’s fast. It’s in your face. There are songs about getting fucked by Satan. It’s fun for the whole family. Sadly, they are starting this tour a couple of week before they release a new album entitled Vengeful Ascension. I would have liked to have heard the new album prior to seeing them perform live. They did roll out a few new songs and it sounds as though they aren’t straying very far from their signature sound.
This was a good show, but I really have to say that the most notable thing about the show wasn’t what happened on stage, but rather the lack of a response from the crowd. San Antonio has long held the title of being “the” metal city in Texas. But, after the past couple of shows that I’ve attended recently, this title is going to be ripped from S.A shortly. This show was on a Friday night. Normally, on a weekend evening, you’d expect to have a fairly decent sized crowd show up and they would be in the mood to cut loose. This show saw a fairly smallish crowd and just a complete lack of any sort of response at all. The band would finish a song and the crowd would let out a tepid roar and applause and then….silence. It was damn near library level of silence between songs. It was so bad that at one point, frontman Louis Falgoust basically had to plead with us to show a little more enthusiasm. “Come on! We’re here to party! It’s a Friday night! You give us energy and we’ll give it right back.” It was really kind of embarrassing for everyone involved. Seeing as though this was the kickoff date of this tour, they couldn’t be feeling great about things.
Now, if I’m completely honest, I made the trip to San Antonio to see opener, Anciients, more so than to see Goatwhore. Anciients is a band from Vancouver who is touring off of their second album, Voices From the Void, which landed at #18 on my Best of 2016 list. If you are a fan of old Mastodon, give these guys a listen and go see them if they make it to your town. They are not well known, but, dammit, they should be. They are one of the more talented up-and-coming metal bands going today.
Some samples:
Anciients-Following the Voice
Anciients-My Home, My Gallows
Anciients-Giants
Anciients-Buried in Sand
Goatwhore-Alchemy of the Black Sun Cult
Goatwhore-Nocturnal Conjuration of the Accursed
Goatwhore-Cold Earth Consumed in Dying Flesh
DISPATCHES FROM THE VOID 