I truly believe in trends and tendencies in the Metal scene. This is the only way to explain when a genre is showing an increase in the number of bands doing it. Black/Death Metal is in the same vein, as names like GRAND BELIAL'S KEY, BLASPHEMY and SARCÓFAGO is really becoming a tendency. No, I'm not saying that the bands are just following a model, but to follow the same path is this way can be dangerous. Although it's good overall, the work from German trio GOATH is nothing new. Their first album, called "Luciferian Goath Ritual", is just a recollection of the clichés we heard a thousand times before.

As I said above, they are playing a primitive and nasty form of Death/Black Metal, with a raw sound and brutal and fast insight. It's like we could be hearing once more some work from the same bands I mentioned above. But we can hear under all these extreme clichés that a potential exists, a personality can be felt, but buried under all this need of the band to play in this way. The work of Andreas Wieland (on recording and mixing) and Patrick W. Engel (on the mastering) is not as good as it could be. Ok, I understand that the band wants their music to sound in this raw and filth way, but some clearness could help. It wouldn't harm their songs, but in the way they did, it is truly a loss of time.

In some points of "Luciferian Goath Ritual", their talent and potential becomes clear to our ears (as you can hear on the riffs of "Into Nihil"), but their need to be other band that isn't GOATH itself destroys all their efforts. It's a pity, because "Blasphemous Supremacy", the very good guitar parts on "Into Nihil", the catchy rhythmic work on "Necromantic Ways", the great talent shown on "Resurrection of the Light Bearer" (very good aggressive bass playing and vocals), the thunderous work from drums on "Enter the Temple", and the riffs of "Under Death's Shadow" are proofs that they can be leaders, not followers as we hear on this album. They can do far better than is presented on "Luciferian Goath Ritual", and it's just a matter of being GOATH, not another band...