Now this here was a classic example of the old maxim
“don’t judge a book by it’s cover”.
Or, to be more accurate to the case at hand, a cd
by it’s cover or band by it’s name. Case
in point: GODDESS OF DESIRE and their 4th album “Awaken
Pagan Gods” , originally released in 2005 by
Armageddon Music, and (apparently by the album sitting
before me) re-issued by Locomotive Records.
My initial reaction was something akin to bemused
hesitancy when my eyes first crossed the cover of
“Awaken Pagan Gods”. I had never even
heard of G.O.D., so I approached the prospect of listening
to the album with something like ‘expectant
resignation’. From the name “Goddess of
Desire” to the inverted crosses featured in
the band’s logo, to the fantasy themed album
cover, I thought “well just what the flying
Halford is this?”. So I popped the cd in, hit
play, and prepared myself to be…. well…
I didn’t know what.
I was taken aback, utterly floored by the force of
metal which came screaming from my stereos speakers.
The nearly unfathomable discrepancy between what I
feared/expected and what I actually heard was enough
to make me question whether or not I had the right
cd in the player. Surely *this* cannot be GODDESS
OF DESIRE? Oh but it was, and let me tell you folks,
I feel that it is now my duty, nay my holy quest,
to spread the word about this band and this album,
because lets face it, you weren’t planning on
buying an album by a band called GODDESS OF DESIRE,
were you? Admit it, you’d laugh, shake your
head, and keep on walking. Well, you would’ve
missed out on a friggan awesome chunk of metal if
you were to pass this one up.
So what is it? Well… it’s a lot of things
really, a hodgepodge of classic “true”
metal, death, black, and Viking metal. But what it
all boils down to is that one word : Metal. Powerful,
triumphant, lewd, crude and tattooed heavy friggan
metal, pure and unrestrained. It’s like AMON
ARMATH meets MOTORHEAD with a touch of BATTLELORE,
a dash of MANOWAR, a hint of GWAR and a generous helping
debauchery. And speaking of MOTORHEAD, I’d swear
that the revered Mr. Kilmister makes a vocal appearance
on the track titled “Nothing’s Free”.
If it’s not him, then it’s someone with
remarkably similar vocals. (I’m finding *very*
little info on this band/album, which is yet another
reason why I feel compelled to write this review.)
The tracks that make up the album are eclectic and
varied, from the metal worshiping “Scream for
Metal True”, to the irreverent and humorous
“Booze”, to the all out blitzkrieg metal
assault of the title track “Awaken Pagan Gods”
(which is undoubtedly one of the most phenomenally
killer tunes mine ears have heard). There’s
a good deal of influences shining through and a whole
lot going on here and just when you think you’ve
got GODDESS OF DESIRE pigeonholed, they come at you
from a different direction, but always with one factor
in common: Metal. This is Metal with a capital “M”.
Excellent album, but c’mon guys “Goddess
of Desire”? A change of moniker would do the
band wonders I’m sure. To be fair, there *is*
a woman in the band. She’s credited on the band’s
web site with “female effects”, apparently
serving as a visual performer during shows, breathing
fire, dancing with swords, that sort of thing, which
sadly doesn’t translate so well to an audio
recording.
Bottom Line: Old school in your face crank it up
to 11 and to hell with the neighbors leather, chains,
spikes, spitting blood and breathing fire fast and
heavy, viciously intense high octane just buy the
damned album already-METAL!
Key Tracks: “March To Meet”; “Awaken
Pagan Gods”; “Holy War”
Reviewed by Farron Watson |
