Goatcraft – Yersinia Pestis (2016)

Hailing from Texas, today we have Goatcraft and its very unique and dark ‘Necro-classical’ brand of Neoclassical music. Focusing on having a very sinister atmosphere, this release delivers 10 tracks of Instrumental keyboard/piano music that will haunt your dreams. A bit more somber than Charmand Grimloch’s work, this release offers a nice change of pace from our traditional Metal musical exploits.

Opening with the lush “Beyond Nothingness”, this one-man outfit creates a very dark and mysterious mood. With compositions like “The Rape of Europa II” and “Plague” we are feel like we are in the middle of the score of a horror movie and we can’t get out (in a good way). Perfectly blending lush atmospheric synths with the dramatic pianos, “The Great Morality” is one of our favorite pieces.

Being fans of Elend and similar outfits, we would have preferred if some screams or samples would have been thrown into the mix to make the sounds more dramatic and engaging. By the time we hit “Flagellation for Atonement”, we are still amused but a bit worn out. While the songs are different from each other, the general mood does not seem to change much making the album a bit tiresome.

Closing with the dramatic “Denouement”, we are left quite satisfied with the dark world created by Goatcraft. While Neoclassical releases might not be for all Metalheads, we appreciate the soundscapes created in it and enjoyed it quite a bit. The atmosphere is always very tense and somber, allowing the listeners deep and darkest thoughts to materialize while left alone at night listening to this album.

Label: I, Voidhanger Records

Release: July 15th, 2016

Genre: Neoclassical / Ambient

Country: USA