Release Date: September 16th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
GOATMILKER - Tracklisting
Mission Log 1601
Devils On My Tail
Drawing Near
Tearing Apart
Black Grass
Mountains
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
Storm
Members
Lars Godal – Guitar
Mathias Lieberknecht– Bass/Vocals
Petter Ramberg – Drums
Vegard Lindtveit – Guitar/Lead Vocals
Review.
GOATMILKER’s self-titled debut album is an interesting mix of Doom, Sludge, Stoner and Prog Metal that’s topped off with a level of Psychedelic weirdness that leads into some unexpected chaos along the way. The band are inspired by the likes of Mastodon, Black Sabbath, Cave In, Kvelertak and Slayer in which the listener is treated to within certain aspects throughout the album.
You have to admire the band’s dedication of not playing safe at all with the different style of Rock and Metal that GOATMILKER have at their disposal. Even the vocals from lead vocalist Vegard Lindtveit can be quite operatic and way over the top but all done in the best possible way. You’re treated to a whole sense of creative madness and warped melodies on the excellent opening track Mission Log 1601.
The song delves into full on Prog Metal territory before interacting with other HEAVY ROCK genres for a sound that’s quite complex and technical from the start. Imagine Cave In jamming with Mastodon before going absolutely bat-shit MATHCORE crazy and then settling on a dynamic Sludge Rock sound. GOATMILKER continues with that style of music for the remainder of the album but still adding different ideas, grooves and flashy instrumental passages to keep everything surreal that only adds to the magic of the whole album.
The second track Devils On My Tail offers a more dramatic flair with GOATMILKER perhaps being a bit subdued compared to the opening track. As this allows the band to push the creative envelope even further with jagged rhythms and progressive melodies having a certain JAZZ based approach to them. Fans of Between The Buried And Me may recognise certain musical structures here and there but GOATMILKER are always thinking ahead of how to put their own identity into the record which they do to great effect.
GOATMILKER then really go way over the top on tracks such as Tearing Apart, Black Glass, Mountains and Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) with the band fully leaning into a heavier and fantastical style of HEAVY METAL with elements of Thrash, Speed Metal and Groove Metal dominate the musical landscape.
However, the music is so damn catchy and highly addictive which is where I can definitely see the KVELERTAK influence finally starting to emerge. The lyrics are great for the most part but with perhaps a few instances where they don’t match the atmosphere of the intense fast paced grooves.
This is most definitely an EXPERIMENTAL record with GOATMILKER throwing everything into a melting pot with flashes of classic TWIN GUITARS based action making an appearance. This record manages to perfectly capture the more offbeat side of HEAVY METAL from almost every sub-genre possible but giving it a modern day Sludge/Stoner Metal twist.
I will admit it did take me a few listens to fully appreciate the record as it goes into many different directions with each individual song. However, it’s GOATMILKER’s highly engaging vocal performances and bloody sheer determination to play through as many as different genres possible that make this record such a resounding success.
The whole of GOATMILKER deserve credit as they bring their “A” game to this album which makes this an offbeat and brilliantly surreal record that’s full of absolute bangers from start to finish.
This is a must have record. Add it to your collection. You won’t be sorry!!!
Words by Steve Howe
You can buy the album here - https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/goatmilker/goatmilker
Links
