Release Date: October 23rd 2026. Record Label: Ripple Music. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Death Comes Twice - Tracklist
1.Voyage of Cetus
2.Firewalk
3.Death Comes Twice
4.Under the Moonlight
5.Wheels of Gold
6.Sirens
7.The Sin Eater
8.Negative Church
9.Detached
Members
Jammie Arnold - guitar
Simon Bonwick - drums
Tom Shortt - bass & vocals
Review
Death Comes Twice is the second album from Doom/Stoner Rockers Goat Major which builds upon the great Occult vibes and sounds from their acclaimed 2024 debut album Ritual. This time round Goat Major add a certain Sludge Rock swagger into their music with a more powerful sound being played from the very start. There is an aggressive melody that’s quite different to ritual with an emphatic FUZZED OUT atmosphere having a clean, crisp and concise delivery which is perfectly delivered throughout the whole album.
The excellent opening track of Voyage Of Cetus is a gloomy instrumental song that touches upon the fringes of Psych, Doom, Stoner and even Ambient Rock for a style of music that feels quintessentially vintage and thoroughly modern at the same time. This wasn’t the type of track I was expecting for Goat Major to open the album with. However, it’s one of my favourite tracks on the album.
Second track Firewalk runs for over eight minutes as Goat Major play against a seedy backdrop of Seventies based Proto-Doom and elements of modern day Fuzz, Psych and Stoner Rock/Metal delivery. This allows Goat Major to develop an intense style of pure amplified heaviness with a cool sideline in SHOCK ROCK tactics. Some parts of the song are quite progressive with some cool sounding “POPPIER” passages developing along the way. Though, the OCCULT ROCK/METAL obsessed lyrics keeps Goat Major firmly within the DOOM METAL world.
Third track Death Comes Twice offers a seedy underbelly of distorted Fuzz Metal and harsh amplified sounds transforming into a great style of modern sludgy based heaviness that sees that classic style of ELECTRIC WIZARD surroundings appear but Goat Major adding their own unique spain. The vocals from Tom Shortt have a manic appeal to them which fully sells the OCCULT DOOM cinematic theme that’s a huge part of the band’s musical arsenal.
Goat Major starts to develop a commanding distorted presence which moves further into the depths of Sludge Rock and sees some vibrant groove rock solos starting to emerge on tracks such as Under The Moonlight, Wheels Of Gold, Sirens, The Sin Eater and Negative Church. The sound is always grounded but still sees Goat Major include some glorious OVER THE TOP ideas into their music whilst playing an intense style of classic Doom Metal energy.
Death Comes Twice is superbly fast paced with an excellent story driven narrative which reminds me of Alice Cooper in places which gives the album another wonderful offbeat atmosphere to develop within the later stages of the record. Goat Major even started to experiment with modern Psych/Stoner Rock grooves on the album that gives the whole record a refreshing modern day vibe whilst keeping their core “OCCULT DOOM” vibe fully intact.
Goat Major have delivered another masterful record with Death Comes Twice that’s bound to become one of the standout records to listen to before the end of the year.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.
Death Comes Twice is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music.
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