For some reason Stoner Metal bands haven't made the buzz and noise that we saw in last 2 years. May be its just me who couldn't see. In any case I got to listen to this weirdly named Stoner rockers, Year Of The Goat, with their 3^rd EP "The Key And The Gate". I had no idea before googling the band's name for this review that YEAR OF THE GOAT means a Chinese Zodiac Sign, interesting and weird band name!

But the music here is a mix of traditional Stoner, Heavy Metal and Hard Rock, and easy on the ears for the seasoned fans of these genres. Formed in 2006, these Swedes have put up 2 EPs and a full length before this EP. The music is diverse as mentioned above with the EP starting with "The Key And The Gate", a fast paced rock song with some interesting solos, just above 3 and half minutes, but packs in so much energy and music in it, feels like an anthem almost. It shows what the band is capable of at their best, and sadly it's the best song on offer in this EP. Not that the other 2 are bad, but just not good enough compared to this one. "Mystic Mountains" is an interesting song as it brings in some sharp guitar work, as the music goes mid tempo and tries to bring in psychedelic elements and is another beautiful song. I don't what the band were trying to do with "Non-Euclidean Calculus", because the song is full of long atmospheric low tempo piano work. It's not even dark or haunting if the band was trying to create that.

While the production is just fine, the music gives me a mixed feeling as the first 2 songs are good, but the last song in my honest opinion was a waste of 5:22 min of any listener's time. That being said, I haven't listened to the band's previous works, but this EP has glimpses of what YEAR OF THE GOAT is capable of. I don't have anything against experimenting, but the band needs to ask themselves are they doing justice to the listener's time, and even their old fans. Check this EP out if you are a fan of Stoner or Hard Rock genres.<