Golgothan – Leech (Lacerated Enemy)
Wednesday, 16th February 2022
Louisiana-based Golgothan have been wading through the death metal bogs for a number of years, releasing a series of EPs since 2014, but Leech marks their first full-length album. Leech is one of those cases where the cover art is a pretty good indicator of what you are going to get inside – not to mention the band’s name, which was a fun look up in meaning “shit demon” or “excremental.” Expect some dark, muddy extremity to follow.
Rooted firmly in brutal death metal (though with some occasional hints of more blackened riffs in songs like “Christian Mingle Killer”), there’s a decided focus on being visceral over being overtly technical. Sure, there are a number of tracks that have some melodic riffing that carries a certain intricacy to it, but it does feel more on the catchy side than the tech side of the fence. In fact, it’s a nice diversion from some of the more brutal sides of the band. Listening to the title track ( the first outside of the swampy/gurgle-y atmosphere building “The Rack”), you can hear the bulk of what is to come in the future: vicious speed runs, eerie melodies, grimy riffs, and some varied yet extreme vocals. While some songs provide some dips into groove (“Bottomless Pit” or “Teeth to Eat You,” for instance), expect nothing short of a throttling experience. But that also gets to the one little nit-picky aspect about Leech. It does everything right but outside of the murky aesthetic, there’s not a ton of unique identity to be had (Cattle Decapitation springs to mind many times immediately). Some will have less of an issue with this, and certainly if you are just looking for a destructive and heavy blast, Golgothan has your back.
Delivering an energetic first full-length, Golgothan bring plenty of heavy to the table with Leech. While influences may sit on their sleeves, it’s not the less a carnage-inducing experience that is going to give your neck quite a work out.
