Gaining some popularity in the Seattle, Washington hardcore scene we have GOAT SANCTUARY. Back in June of 2021 they released their new E.P titled "Chthonic" which also happens to feature two guest musicians in JIM FENNEL and ZACHARY HOILAND playing down some guitar work. The E.P opens with "Cthulhu" our first guest spot with ZACHARY HOILAND laying down some cool lead guitar lines. We get some evil and heavy punk vibes here from the start and the drums acting as the driving force of the track with the vocals leading the charge. Plenty of cool head banging parts and gives us a nice taste of what we have to come. Decent enough intro track.

Next up we have "Hail to the Goat" with our second guest musician JIM FENNEL who is playing a melodic lead guitar line with the band backing that up. We get some clean vocals for the verse and a sense of doom with the riffs. The song then switches to punk mode for the chorus. There is a great guitar solo here and this is a song you can really sing along with. After that one we have "Shark Teeth" which is very bass heavy in the mix. The bass lines here are really cool and the guitar and drums help keep the pace. The song just stomps along and I can see this being used as a mosh pit starter. You just got to love a song about sharks.

"Drain The Blood" is a song that will get you moving then head banging. This one has a good balance of punk mixed with metal. We have a great heavy chorus and a slight BLACK SABBATH feel with the guitar line during the outro. Finally we come to the last track with "Out of Light". Plenty of old school vibes here and the drums are killing it. The vocals sound great here as the band plough through their final assault. This song is filled with lots of energy and is bound to make plenty of circle pits.

From listening to "Chthonic" you can hear that GOAT SANCTUARY are all about getting those pits started. The songs are short but to the point. The production and mix is a little bit all over the place but the songs still shine through. Some decent vocals that show a bit of range and lots of heavy music with elements of punk and metal blended together.