Finland has produced some of the most popular bands in black metal, such as Impaled Nazarene, Behexen, and Beherit. The sound has often been some of the rawest and most abrasive of the second wave of black metal, and has also proven to be some of the most controversial, thanks in part to Satanic Warmaster.
Holy Goatse is the second full-length album from young Finnish black metal outfit, Womit Angel, and they certainly like to stick to the simple, raw approach their fellow countrymen often prefer. Songs are fairly short, with only the opening track, “Serpens Cauda,” breaking the four minute mark. Although vocally Womit Angel stick to the high-pitched screams found in most of the genre, musically they are a slightly different animal. The drummer alternates between blast beats and d-beats that sound more like something from a crust punk band than a black metal group. The guitars have a punky feel to them as well, and with occasional leads thrown in, have an almost 80’s metal approach. “Nekorfilian Kutsu” is a great example of this, and comes off sounding almost like a black metal Motorhead track, though much less subtle in the lyrical department.
Womit Angel’s lyrics are a mixture of sadistic sexual debauchery and super satanic, anti-religious themes; everything is so over the top that it almost feels tongue in cheek. The music is certainly heavy at times (“Summoning The Spirits Of Agony” is a fairly straight-forward black metal tune) but the punk influences and the insanely offensive lyrics lighten the blow a bit. Womit Angel manage to give off an almost (dare I say it) “fun” vibe, and I don’t think are meant to be taken too seriously, sort of like Carpathian Forest. Still, if it’s all meant to be deadly serious, then Womit Angel may just be a little too much to take.
The production is pretty much on par with a modern punk rock record, with a heavy drum and guitar presence in the mix. The vocals are mixed pretty well, with dueling overdubbed attacks that range from high-pitched howling to guttural death growls, similar to Ceremonial Castings. Holy Goatse is a pretty respectable black metal record, and with its 80’s metal/punk influences, I’d go as far as to say that it stands out from the rest of the pack.