Album Review: Slaegt - Goddess
Reviewed by Patrick O'Reilly
Slaegt are a band that come highly recommended, not only from me, for what my opinion is worth, but from legend of the melodic death metal scene Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates. Tomas has championed this band and even handpicked them to play Roadburn Festival, which he curated in 2019.
Tomas obviously has great taste and has spotted a gem of a band in Slaegt that have released a classic album in 'Goddess'.
Like the name of the album, this album mixes the spiritual with the mystical and combines many different styles of extreme metal without being dragged down in genre constraint. Black metal, prog rock, thrash are the base elements that this band of alchemists have used to transform into musical gold, each a master of their craft but also with the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Classic instruments, amps and recording equipment combine to give a very retro feel to the music, though this feels like a natural choice for the band and one which fitted the vision for this album rather than a cheap gimmick to cash in on any retro popularity.
The musicianship is of the highest order, technical in places but always threatening to burst into a thrashier section or something even more brutal. The writing is what really stands out though with catchy hooks everywhere and also a real sense of depth and atmosphere.
Lyrically I was really impressed by the poetry of the lyrics, particularly as they are in English which is not the band’s native language. There is a real English folk feeling to the lyrics, dark and mysterious with a real beauty and romance to them. Stunning artwork completes the package and makes this a mandatory purchase for fans of any of the musical styles mentioned in this review!!
I would recommend this album in particular for fans of – Opeth, Darkthrone, Anathema, Enslaved
