Bestial Holocaust - Into the Goat Vulva
Iron Bonehead Productions
Black/Death/Thrash
8 songs (37:38)
Release year: 2012
Reviewed by Bar
Surprise of the month

Well, here's an album I certainly did not expect to like so much. When I saw the promo for this, I knew pretty quickly that I would want to give it a listen. What self-respecting metal reviewer in his right mind could resist the lure of an album as delectably titled as Into the Goat Vulva? Having said that, I can assure you I was harbouring no great expectations for the music itself. I thought it might be nice for a quick, cheap laugh and I’d slap a score of 55 on the thing and be done with it forever. Instead I found myself listening to what sounded like a long-lost Sarcofago album featuring the best harsh female vocalist I’ve ever heard. Imagine my surprise!

Retro is the name of the game as far as Bestial Holocaust are concerned, so if you fail to see the appeal in music that ignores the last 25 years of musical advancement, then it's probably best if you don't bother in the first place. But for anyone who can appreciate the throwback, you’ll be hard pressed to find many bands performing it more convincingly than these Bolivian headbangers. Most retro acts emulate the sound of a certain period without ever being in danger of really fooling anyone, while only a select few manage an approach so believable that you might find yourself re-checking the production year of the album. Bestial Holocaust fall squarely into the latter category, as at times their brand of late 80s inspired Black/Death/Thrash seems simply too authentic to be true. From the simple yet punishing song structures, to the spiteful delivery, to the unpolished but powerful production, the desired effect is extraordinarily well realised.

When it comes to this sort of old-school worship, aside from authenticity there are really only two factors by which to judge the output: the atmosphere and the riffs. Let's start with the atmosphere, which appropriately is one of pure malevolence – vocalist Sonia Sepulcral makes damn sure of that. Her snarling exudes the sort of malice that this music demands, and she performs it more convincingly than any number of male vocalists I could cite. She sings in her native Spanish, and she absolutely destroys any notion you might have of it as a silky, romantic sounding language. The Spanish she vomits forth is downright filthy sounding, and her every word seems positively dripping with evil. She’s astonishingly good.

So with the atmosphere accounted for, all that’s left to cover is the riffs and I’m glad to say Bestial Holocaust have not forgotten to bring the goods. As per the style and time period they are trying to emulate, the songs are all built around very simple structures and tend to focus on one or two main riffs. Seemingly well aware of how important this makes each and every riff, guitarist Satanael lays down a set of riffs designed for maximum head banging impact. The only drawback to this approach is that some of the tracks overstay their welcome a little bit. Riffs that would have made excellent 2 minute songs are instead drawn out into 4 minute songs, but that’s a sacrifice in the name of authenticity.

If you think there’s no point in emulating a style of music from a time long passed, then you can probably take 20 points off the score I’ve given. On the other hand, if you’ve always wished Sarcofago had recorded a full-length some time between I.N.R.I. and The Laws of Scourge, I dare say you’ll get right off on the sheer raw pleasure of Into the Goat Vulva.

Killing Songs :
Eterna Posesión, Virgin Lust, Premoniciones, Sacrificio
Bar quoted 80 / 100
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