Between the reunion of local heroes EyeHateGod to the release of new albums from Crowbar and Corrosion of Conformity, the New Orleans sludge scene has been especially active as of late. Previously propelled by the slow chug of their peers, the Delta sludge wave now meanders into turbid waters with the release of Constricting Rage of the Merciless, the latest full-length from Goatwhore and the follow-up to 2012's Blood for the Master. For over fifteen years now, the quartet has been merging black metal, thrash, and the blues into a direct, southern-fried take on the genre. The Louisianans’ structural scope may be limited to brief barn burners, but they have largely managed to avoid stoner metal's ubiquitous bloat, which makes the band’s limited structural scope easier to overlook. Goatwhore remain more or less unchanged, powered by their faithful, fast rhythmic undertow and frequent soloing. Still, even the most reliable paradigms can feel stale once in a while, though, and so Constricting Rage ends up being the outfit’s most varied record to date, as well as their strongest.
At first, the prospect of a more textured version of Goatwhore's sound comes across as an unappealing notion, as the band’s punkish qualities instantly distinguish them from their molasses-tempoed contemporaries (and let’s be honest, with Crowbar and company back on the scene, is there really a need for more dirge-y bands in Louisiana?). Nevertheless, "Cold Earth Consumed in Dying Flesh” showcases the band’s slower side with aplomb, importing Scandinavian touches like ominous synths and brittle blast-beats to complement all that whiskey-fueled thrash. That's as far as the album goes insofar as tectonic shifts; elsewhere, the New Orleans crew embellish their current sonics with meatier guitars, stronger melodic leads, and, perplexingly, a lack of bass throughout the entire album. Fortunately, Louis Ben Falgoust’s profane yowls have never sounded more commanding, and his range of growls and screams lend a terrific contrast to the dull roar of his bandmates.
In Goatwhore’s wicked universe, sexuality and the supernatural always go hand-in-hand—an unsurprising paradigm, considering that the quartet hail from one of North America's most haunted cities. The lecherous hydra that graces Constricting Rage’s cover is an emblem for the album’s broader lyrical themes, none of which are new: screwing, Satan, sacrifice. As with most black metal bands, Goatwhore aren’t afraid to pepper their anthems with shock value, constructing vivid scenes of demonic sex on “FBS”—or, to pick apart the acronym in a family-friendly manner, “Snuggling with Satan”. With understated eloquence, the band weaves together mystical images of entwined bodies in the form of snakes, giving way to the dissolution of man’s mortal coil. Even with its carnal, corny chant of “Fucked by Satan,” the song’s poetics shine through; thanks to the spread-out mixing, Falgoust’s gurgled poetry can actually be heard above his partners’ racket, though his reptilian death growls on “Poisonous Existence in Reawakening" will have many listeners scrambling for the liner notes. At any rate, it’s great to hear the band sharpening this dimension of their sound, especially considering that incessant, largely unwavering gallop of the guitars start to grow wearisome around the album’s halfway point.
Ultimately, Constricting Rage will either prove redundant or ravishing. On one hand, the Louisiana outfit’s decade-plus experience with churning out simple, sloppy Satanic jams gives them tremendous staying power within their sub-genre; traces of their sound can be heard in the stylistic trappings of Skeletonwitch and greened-out goofballs Cannibis Corpse, just to name a few. At the same time, with the swamps teeming so strongly these days, Goatwhore will need more than literary wit and virgin sacrifices to set themselves apart from the rest. As long as they keep mixing up the muck and toying with new consistencies, though, these Bayou beasts need not worry.
