Wow ... has GOATWHORE really been squeezing out unholy slabs of hate-stricken satanic Metal for 15 years now? Man, how infernal time flies. It seems like just yesterday I stood holding a pristine copy of their debut album. I had high expectations, dreaming of how downright destructive a combination of SOILENT GREEN and ACID BATH could be. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling that their earliest venture was woefully under produced and a repetitive affair.

Yet, hate springs eternal, and here we are, starting over with a clean slate in 2012. GOATWHORE has unleashed the vicious "Blood For the Master," and I find that production is actually one of the album's strong points. I'm guessing expert knob-twiddler Erik Rutanis responsible for capturing these crystal clear performances. Heck, it even sounds like he recorded organic drums; I thought that mess went out of style 20 years ago.

Music wise, the band are locked into a definite sweet spot. They knock out 10 strong tracks in 38 minutes. GOATWHORE'ssound covers many styles of extreme Metal: Black, Thrash, Death Metal ... it's all here. Yet, they add just enough swing and bounce to keep the album from getting too repetitious. "Collapse in Eternal Worth" and "When Steel and Bone Meet" open the album with a tough one-two punch, while "Parasitic Scriptures of the Sacred Word" brings a touch of boogie to the proceedings.

"Embodiment of This Bitter Chaos" breaks the meld and opens with a one minute acoustic / guitar solo intro. Still, the hammer fully strikes anvil again when the song completely kicks in. The shortest song on the album, "An End to Nothing," features a fantastic and classic Speed Metal riff ... probably my favourite on the album. The final song, "My Name Is Frightful Among the Believers," is probably the track that sounds the most like the band's earlier material.

Lyrically, the album appears to describe an all-out war on heaven. Being a fan of John Milton's "Paradise Lost", I find this lyrical concept intriguing. Over the 10 tracks, the band spews pure satanic propaganda of the highest order. I'm not exactly sure which member of the heavenly host offended the band, but the battle lines are drawn and it's evident that GOATWHORE have chosen the left-hand path.

I can't believe I'm typing this, but this is one of the best straight-up Metal releases I've heard in a long time. While there's not much variation here, it's hard for me to fault a band for finding their strengths and sticking with them.