There are two types of perfectionist musicians: the one who constantly revisits old material, and the one who leaves their old material behind them. Sometimes, however, re-recording what has already worked can unjam a creative slump or at least bring a band's evolved lineup onto the same page. If everyone knows how it was done before, they should have no problem navigating what comes next.

Such may be the case for legendary Spanish Doomsters GOLGOTHA as they release "Remembering The Past - Writing The Future", their latest EP featuring one new song and four revisions of previously released songs. It follows up 2019's "Erasing The Past", retaining a certain theme, and also presents a sign of steady work coming from the otherwise inconstant band.

The first track is the new one, "Don't Waste Your Life", and it is a clear sign that this band's sound is steadily turning darker while also holding on to their trademark crushing heaviness. Nevertheless, it seems to fill a space rather than create a new one. After this comes the mostly-faithful reworkings of old songs starting with "Helpless", which has a more subdued feel than it had on the "Arise" EP, but sounds more polished and thought-out.

"I Am Lost" is similarly cleaner sounding that it originally was on "New Life", but it has a different sort of energy to it. "Elemental Changes" is given much more flesh than it had on its eponymous release, adding a fresh dynamism to it along with about forty more seconds than it used to have. Finally, the ringing bells which introduced "Lonely" on the renowned "Melancholy" are removed, the first sign of a much more aggressive re-telling, which this version most certainly is.

So, "Remembering The Past - Writing The Future" essentially does just that; there's a good three decades to look back on for GOLGOTHA, and with the current lineup firmly enveloped by the history they tread over, they're proving that this band is far from done, and has a lot more room to grow and has more areas to explore. They've considered their own archives and are poised to bring new ideas forward.

Just what the future holds for GOLGOTHA may remain a mystery for some time, however. The wait times between albums doubled with each release. But, even if it does take them some twenty-eight years to record album five, the Metal community eagerly awaits it.