Milking The Goatmachine - Back From The Goats
Anstalt Records
Brutal Death Metal with Grindcore influences
14 songs (36:40)
Release year: 2009
Milking The Goatmachine, Anstalt Records
Reviewed by Khelek

My first reaction on seeing this band's name is: "what the hell?", as I am sure is the case for many others. Well apparently a group of twisted individuals from Germany has based their band name and concept album on goats. Ok, so it's a bit weird, but it got me interested to hear what the band had to offer, especially since I love a good, brutal grindcore album, and that's what thisd was being advertised as. Unfortunately what Milking The Goatmachine has to offer is a pretty bland blend of brutal death with a few grindcore elements that you can almost fall asleep to. In fact if it was not for a great cover and a somewhat original concept idea, the band would not have anything new to offer.

The vocals from Goatleeb Udder (he may or may not have taken the goat thing too far) are a mix of deep, death metal growls and the "bree bree" of pig squeals, with not much in between, making the vocals really just another instrument that I find to be grating at times. The first track, March Into Shed, does have some grindcore elements in the vocals and sometimes in the guitar work, but the second track, A Tale Of Slaughtering, has much more in common with brutal death metal than anything else with the slow, chugging riffs and heavy drumming. Next up is a cover of Sacred Reich's Surf Nicaragua (retitled to Goataragua) and it's really pretty good, and appropriate for this release. If only Milking The Goatmachine could write music anywhere close to the same level. Sour Milk Boogie begins with some samples, and then comes in with simplistic riffs that are catchy, but not very interesting. I forget the song almost as soon as it is over, which does not take long. Many of the riffs and song structures on tracks like Goats Got No Clits and Rise Of The Wise Goat are definitely more death metal oriented, I just don't hear the grindcore, except maybe in the vocals. This reminds me of Skinless much more than most grindcore bands. Perhaps they should call it goatcore? Haha just kidding (although the band has thought of that no doubt). Bingo Bongo continues this death metal feeling with big, chugging riffs that lead into a much faster passage that wakes me up for a moment, but then falls back into the repetitiveness of the same, slow riffs. The rest of the album continues in much the same manner, slow, chugging riffs accentuated by pig squeals and the occasional quick guitar break. Unfortunately one word can really sum it up: monotony. The last two tracks are bit quicker and more interesting, but it's simply too little, too late to make any lasting impression.

These guys know how to play some decent metal, but they really need to work on writing some more interesting songs, i.e. learn that there can (and should) be more things to a brutal metal release than ultra-heavy riffs and double bass drumming. The vocals simply get to the point where I don't want to hear them anymore because they all sound the same, and the pig squeals really need to go. I realize this is the band's first album, but they had to realize that all of this has all been done before and it has been done better (see Skinless, Misery Index, Kataklysm). I can go listen to any of those bands and get something much more satisfying than this album, in fact I think I'll go do that right now.

Killing Songs :
Surf Goataragua, Goats Got No Clits, Eaten Blessed Scum
Khelek quoted 55 / 100
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There are 5 replies to this review. Last one on Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:22 pm
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