History & Biography The band was formed by a couple of members of The Obsessed in 1996 following that band's demise. They recruited local singer Pete, jammed for a couple of years, lost bassist Guy Pinhas (formerly of The Obsessed who went on to Acid King and work at Man's Ruin) and signed to Man's Ruin which licensed the album to Rise Above for Europe. The band also appeared on the obligatory tribute CD (Black Sabbath on Hydrahead) and released a 7". The guitarist, Greg Anderson, and writer Steven O' Malley owned Southern Lord Records.
An EP called Dog Days appeared on Southern Lord in 2000. The band uploaded a couple of tracks called Breakfast With The King and Deathwish in 2000.
The band lost bassist Dalquist mid-2001 and recruited former Trouble man Rob Holzner. The band threw in the towel and disbanded in the winter of 2002.
Southern Lord issued a new Goatsnake EP called Trampled Under Hoof in late 2004. The MCD featured three originals and two cover versions. Apparently most of the music was recorded in the summer of 2002 and some bass and all the vocals were dubbed in 2004. Bass was played by former Kyuss man Scott Reeder.
Goatsnake reunite for a show at 2010’s Roadburn festival, on April 15-17th at the 013 and Midi Theatre in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Guy Pinhas had rejoined.
Goatsnake's first LP in fifteen years, Black Age Blues, was available in mid-2015 worldwide through Southern Lord Recordings. Bassist Renner was the sole new member. The band uploaded a single called Breakfast With The King in 2020, which was older material. A demo of again older material was simply called Goatsnake and released in 2023.
Reviews GOATSNAKE - TRAMPLED UNDER HOOF - SOUTHERN LORD
It is difficult to tell whether this five-track EP is a genuine return for the band or a compilation of several tracks packaged together. The CD features three songs which were partially recorded two years ago and completed this year. Tagged along for the spin are two cover versions, Saint Vitus' Burial At Sea and Black Oak Arkansas' Hot Rod, previously available on different release. Also along for the ride is one cute goat on the cover.
The band does not make it hard for the reviewer to describe its music. As if the choice of cover songs was not telling, the presence of former The Obsessed, Scream and Kyuss members should complete the story really. What more could you ask for? The band's publishing company is called Sabbath Rehash!
The chords are huge and hugely distorted, the riffs rare and the vocals oscillate between a Soundgarden-ish drone and a doomy grunt. This is as purely doom metal as Fiffy the pure-bred is a Poodle. There are hints of the band's affiliations and influences everywhere in the band's music, lyrics, graphics and descriptions. It is almost like a fun puzzle left there for the keen fan to discover. - Ali "The Metallian"
Interviews
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