Bestial Torment

No idea why it is necessary to present two cover songs on a split single. Of course you can euphemistically sell this as a concept, but for me it looks more like a lack of creativity. But in the end it doesn't matter, because this rendezvous of two Belgian bands didn't unhinge the black metal world anyway.

Goat Torment fight their way through their own song which sounds a bit like Possession without a compositionally convincing idea. Dull, violent, racy and neither bad nor really inspiring. The death metal-like sound of the vinyl possibly destroys some of its musical potential. To be honest, the cover song sounds the same, which is why the material of Goat of Torment leaves me relatively cold. There is no lack of energy, pugnacity or hate, but their music doesn't create the feeling of an all-destroying fire roll either.

So clear the stage for The Beast. But beware, even though there is an Enthroned member involved, it all sounds rather horrible, inter alia because of the fact, that the first track also suffers from a death metal-affine production. The own song with the very opulent playtime of 95 seconds tries to score with scratchy guitars, infernal anger and as little melody as possible, while the atmospheric performance of a piece by Beherit has a rather soporific effect on me. Primitive drums meet overflowing keyboards, while a distorted voice tells something about paradise. Well, if you like it, you can be happy with it. On the other hand, it seems pretty logical to me that we haven't heard anything from The Beast since this release.

65% for Goat Torment and 30% for The Beast seem to be fair valuations, because all in all, the music is as imaginative as the ingenious name of the split. No doubt, Belgians can do it better. Just listen to “Prophecies of Pagan Fire”, “Fatherland” or “1585 – 1646”.