GOATESS is a Swedish Doom/Stoner Metal band; "Blood and Wine," is their third full length album.  It is also their first release without CHRITUS on vocals, replaced by Karl Buhre. I haven't heard their previous two releases so I'm without a frame of reference but...this is some solid, no frills Doom.  As expected, the riffs are well played, even groovy, and the bass is a mountain of fuzz.  The bulk of the guitar melodies sound hazy and psychedelic, hence the Stoner aspect of their sound coming into play perfectly.  Nothing here is mind blowing but it is highly serviceable.

New vocalist Karl Buhre has a wonderful mid-range voice-clean vocals but with passionate gruff behind them.  No doubt, his style fits into the band's musical compositions and journey. The first track, "Goddess," begins like you would expect a Doom/Stoner album to do: fat riffs, throbbing base and crisp drumming.  The psychedelic melodies that approach about a minute in are as infectious as the grooves they give way to.  Samuel's bass really shines during the song's more laid back moment around the five minute mark and I found myself enjoying his style as much as anyone else on the album-definitely the album's MVP in my humble opinion.  The song kicks back into high gear towards the end-I don't know if it is the slightly muddy production or what but the guitars do sound like they could use an extra kick or two...just seems like they need a bit more meat added to them.... more so in the production than Niklas' actual playing which is impeccable.

"What Lies Beneath," is highlighted by more boisterous bass but this time it is the guitar that catches my ear and throws me into an almost trance like state—I often found myself really caught up in Niklas' playing as he has a great ear for hazy and sleepy melodies/harmonies.  Karl gives an impassioned performance as well, very expressive and engaging. "Dunerider," has a certain energy about it that had me headbanging from the get go-the song just has a nice set of grooves to it and the drums, especially the cymbal work, really move things along.   From the 3:30 mark all the way to the song's end is just a sterling example of how Stoner infused Doom Metal should be played.

The final, and title, track "Blood and Wine," is certainly the best song on the album.  Up until the 12-minute mark when the song trails off into a very cool psychedelic show down, the riffs are just nonstop: heavy, groovy, even enchanting—the guitars and bass really shine high on this track.  As I said before, there is nothing here that is super original or going to transcend the sub-genre but is wholly entertaining and a smoke-filled journey of riffs, riffs, and more riffs.  In the end, isn't that all we want with our Doom?