Servants of the Outer Dark - Thirteen Goats (Review)

"‘Servants of the Outer Dark’ is the debut record by Vancouver death metal monsters THIRTEEN GOATS - a sonic trip that winds down the most twisted sections of extreme metal’s memory lane on a journey to wicked new horizons.” Well if that's how a band describes their musicality in the debut album promo, with added terms like ‘extreme metal’ - I was totally in for the hell-ride.

With almost forty minutes of runtime, ‘Servants of the Outer Dark’ offers a gut-punching and lethal dose of death metal, along with borrowing several facets of other neighboring genres as well. With lyrical themes ranging from social unrest and vengeance to Nazism, the band manages to fuse all these elements together skillfully.

The opening track “Servants of Order Dark” begins with a thunderclap and bell rings with an acoustic guitar on top, before bleeding in catchy, powerful riffs with flamboyant guitar leads on top. Joining in are the groovy drums beneath it, which makes it all worth of effective headbanging. The growls are gritty and the high screams radiate a vile dose of death metal energy, while also being decipherable in the track. The biggest takeaway, however, is the catchy chorus with melodious vocal lines on top that will definitely stay with the listener for a long time.

Tracks like “Challenge the Executioner” and “Vacuum-Induced Head Explosion” are staples of modern death metal with fast pacing and technical riffages, which definitely reminded me of Decapitated in a few phrases. The drum parts flow well between the moments of blast beats and double bass. Small moments like the tradeoff between the guitars and bass in “Challenge the Executioner” are a fun way to express the band’s dynamics.

“Return to Ruin” has a powerful second half with a chest-thumping power chord-based riff that is an absolute adrenaline pumper. The vocal phrasings especially here are very reminiscent of Dave Mustaine (Megadeth).

“Constant Torment” and “Through the Meat Grinder... The Recipe” are tracks with metalcore roots, with hints of death metal elements. This is quite a shift from the first half of the album in terms of riff-writing style. The band does not shy away to play with variable tempos and changes in dynamics, which certainly hooks the attention. The track “Unholy Mass” has to be the weirdest of all - riffages that make your head dizzy with the dissonant note choices evoke a claustrophobic feel. The band has sighted Cryptopsy an inspiration for the track, and inevitably so! Also, the drums have a hardcore feel to them which adds a certain upbeat texture.

Thirteen Goats might not have too many layers, instruments, and extra sonic elements to work with (except for the intro to “Sub Being”), but the boys do know how to add ingredients from other genres. There is the existence of thrash and old-school death metal elements throughout. Hardcore and Metalcore presence can be felt especially in the last half of the album. The band does know to stitch together ideas as none of the tracks feel generic or overly repetitive. One of the stellar factors of the album is the production. The guitars and drums sound absolutely incredible, capturing the energy of the band perfectly. A good-sounding record is always a green flag for me - makes me wanna invest in the musical journey further and “Servants of Order Dark” does not disappoint me either.

Lastly, I wanna conclude by saying - for a debut album of a band, “Servants of Order Dark” is a pretty solid album. Thirteen Goats certainly got the chops for good song-writing and musical proficiency. Hope the record manages to burst the bubble and spread itself to various listeners across the world.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Website: https://www.facebook.com/THIRTEEN.GOATS

Genre: Death Metal

Label: Independent

Worldwide Release: July 1st, 2022.