I don’t know about your holiday traditions, but where I come from, nothing screams “Christmas” more than a goat demon with a bottle of booze in one hand, an assault rifle in the other and Jesus’ severed head adorning his codpiece. If you’re like me, then the new EP from Germany’s Bestial Warfare, Desecrating Goat Assault, is sure to delight and bring about those warm, cozy feelings that only a burning church really comes close to. Is it a little on the nose? Yeah, but at least there isn’t a shred of pretense. You get what you pay for.
This is normally the spot where I would wax poetic about the history of the band and their trajectory so far, but in Bestial Warfare’s case, they don’t have a whole lot of history to mention. Formed in 2017, the trio of Decius Christgrinding Hammerfist (guitar/vocals), Blashphemer Evocator Incinerator Mass (bass/vocals) and Death Tyrant of Satanic Vengeance (drums) only have a demo from 2018 to their name besides this release. Still, what they lack in tenure, they make up for with hunger. Desecrating Goat Assault is a furious five tracks that channel the wild, chaotic energy of the war metal forefathers that came before them. It’s a little bit old school, a little bit modern, with a lot of crazy good riffs and plenty of energy. If nothing else, they’ve nailed the aesthetic, but there is also plenty to love here below the superficial.
Desecrating Goat Assault is an album that sounds exactly like what you think it sounds like from the aforementioned cover art. A brutal and unrelenting mix of black and death metal, there really aren’t any low points throughout the whole twenty-ish minute affair, from the minute “Impaled Human Scum” begins to the end of “Antichrist Offensive.” It’s pretty much all riffs and blast beats all the time, but that’s exactly what one might expect from tracks that are so…impeccably named, and the riffs are nothing to scoff at. Short and sweet without overstaying their welcome, nothing in here reinvents the wheel, but there are some clever and headbang-worthy spikes added around the outside. Will it shake up any year end lists? Probably not, but there’s a lot of fun to be had, and it certainly is going to go a ways towards cementing Bestial Warfare as a force to be reckoned with.
Keep your eyes peeled for the debut full-length from Bestial Warfare coming soon. Desecrating Goat Assault is a ripping good time, one that makes for a good “last release of the year” listen. As for me, now it’s time to listify everything and put together some kind of a retrospective for this crazy year. It’s been a wild ride, but a lot of the highlights have come because of writing here. Happy Holidays, if that’s your thing, and if not, a Friday is a good enough reason to celebrate.
– Ian
Desecrating Goat Assault is available now on Godz ov War Productions. For more information on Bestial Warfare, visit their Facebook page.
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