Vehemency Judging by the cover and overall aesthetics, my initial impression of Vuohi's The Rising Era of Goat was that it would be a feast on cold, northern black metal, hailing the second wave to maximum, so it is somewhat surprising to hear how much there's also death metal and grindcore within this mix of utterly violent extreme metal that barely lasts over twenty minutes - albeit including ten tracks in total.

Vuohi's proper black metal appears infrequently. The first three swift pieces are full of thick, buzzing death metal guitars and grindcore tempos, and it is not until the fourth track "Flame" that is almost a 180 degree turn into melancholic, mid-tempo black metal à la Baptism or some similar native act of the blackest arts. After this certain track, the Impaled Nazarene esque barbarism is back on "(In the Name of) Ultimate Humanity", but black metalish nuances can still be spotted from various different corners of the album. But for the most part, it's the death metalish chaos, sickness and decadence that holds its grip the firmest throughout the songs.

As can be expected, the compositions don't blossom in originality, but it can not be denied that the band does play very tightly. There isn't really anything I could complain about in the instrument nor vocal department (the latter nicely fluctuating between higher pitched screams and low growls, reminiscent of Belphegor). It is just that this kind of race of speed is not hundred percent my thing (hence tracks like "Flames" stand out), even if there's nothing actually harassing or wrong in it. Also, the production is nicely somewhere between clear and dirty, which is good. So why wouldn't I give my recommendation to The Rising Era of Goat, if this sounds like your thing? Go ahead and check it out, these guys know what they're doing, and it is evident.