Ticking all the boxes?

As we all know, death and taxes are the only certainties in life. If you’re a metalhead, however, you’ve surely already added witches and goats to that list. And if you’re an ardent follower of the Toilet, you’ve already commended Witchgöat for doing the sensible thing and slapping the two together to name their – you may have guessed it – black thrash project. That’s two boxes ticked right away (maybe three if we count the band photo). Will these guys go on to give you exactly what you expect? Yes and no, as “Black Vomit of Souls” from their upcoming debut Egregors of the Black Faith demonstrates.

While Witchgöat’s overall aesthetic may seem par for the course, they quickly show that they’re not just geographically above their many South American colleagues. Much of their superiority comes courtesy of guitarist and band founder P. Scythe, who consistently delivers catchy riffs and killer lead work. I’m paritcularly taken with the section around 1:20 that unexpectedly injects an almost oriental feel to the track, followed shortly thereafter by a tasty solo. 2018 was a pretty good year for this genre, and Witchgöat give me hope that the trend may continue in 2019.

Egregors of the Black Faith will be out via Morbid Skull Records on February 13th. Physical (and at some point, hopefully digital) copies are up for pre-order. You can check what the band is up to over here.