Goat Semen "En Vivo En Lima Hell" Soul Erazer Records 2003

Live album
Release date: May 26th, 2017
Label: Soul Erazer Records


Tracklist:

1. Sodom Graves 04:59   Show lyrics
2. Madre muerte 04:48   Show lyrics
3. At Luzbel's Behest 03:51   Show lyrics
4. Death Will 04:18
5. Post-Armagedon 03:23
6. Apologia terrorista 03:46
7. Crucified Fucked and Forsaken 03:13
8. Warfare Noise 05:24   Show lyrics
9. Goat Semen 02:40   Show lyrics
10. Rotten Messiah 04:18
11. Sodom Graves   Show lyrics
12. Apologia Terrorista
13. Warfare Noise   Show lyrics
14. Oracle of the Sands


If you own a Goat Semen release, it's probably this one, thanks to actual distribution on the part of Displeased Records (no idea how Goat Semen stumbled into a deal with them, but there you go). It's an odd release by the label; honestly, it's an odd release in general. This sort of thing never gets a pro CD deal from a major label; I mean, a live album by a Peruvian black/death band with no prior full-lengths or really any attention from the scene in general? What miracle happened to these guys that allowed them the privilege?

There's a perplexing mix of styles on display here; plenty of this music is cut from the modern Blasphemy style of chaotic black/death metal, but there's also an edge of oldschool thrash and even traditional heavy metal as well. The mixture is odd but seemingly appropriate: the raw, primitive nature of the more extreme elements is tempered by the pacing and variation of the more traditional styles on display, making for what might be one of the most dynamic releases I've ever heard in this primitive black/death style. Slashing Black Witchery riffs are mixed with sudden falsetto screams ala Slayer or even Mercyful Fate, blast beats juxtapose with rhythms and riffs that could come from '84- there's a lot of influences and a lot of directions for this music.

The production is better than I'd expect from a Peruvian's band's live release- it's still not good, mind you, but better than I expected. It's clipped and cloudy but you can still hear everything pretty clearly, perhaps owing to the somewhat weird, early '80s guitar tone on display that lacks a lot of the modern bite and ultra-gain you'd expect from something like this. As for the songs themselves- well, I'm not sure they really matter. They're all rather similar to each other- chaotic black/death meets a love of the (surprisingly fun and bouncy) '80s- and this record really seems to be much more about a certain feel than anything, though certainly arrived at unintentionally. That being said, the songwriting is solid enough: I've managed to listen to this record all the way through more than five times, though my attention does waver periodically. This is hardly my thing, you know.

I suppose this has its place in the metal scene; it's probably the best Peruvian record I own, certainly, and I appreciate the enthusiasm and aggression behind the music. Oddly enough, the pair of studio tracks at the end of the disc are the weakest thing here, and not just because the first is instrumental. I have a feeling that Goat Semen is the sort of band that thrives in the live setting- the, I don't know, five people audible in the audience seem to agree- and for some reason being able to hear all the riffs in moderate clarity takes away from some of the energy. I think being drunk while listening to this would help too.

So yeah, if you think Hell's Headbangers is basically the greatest label in the world and dressed up as King Diamond for Halloween one time this is made for you.