Joel Grind - The Yellowgoat Sessions

Joel Grind - The Yellowgoat Sessions (Acid Rat / Ljudkasett / Hell’s Headbangers, 2013)

This is a kind of solo-album from Joel Grind from TOXIC HOLOCAUST if I get it right. He recorded all instruments and vocals on this. Congrats Joel! The first impression is that this is pretty much in the sign of the first two Bathory LPs and the sign of the D-beat.

Moreover the cover – intentionally I guess - depicts a yellow goat, a similar yellow-goat which accidentally was misprinted yellow on the first Bathory LP which now is for sale for enormous prices.

OK, let’s talk about the music, which we don’t have too much to talk about.

Joel is less or more recreating the first Bathory LP here with better sound plus some extras. The whole album is like a compilation of unreleased Bathory songs from the early 80s with the hint of Venom and Motörhead. And here comes the comparison with fellow-US goat-warriors Midnight. It’s the similar „taste-of-the-knife” thrash/punk/early black metal outbursts with direct song-structures and simple refrains, with the same circle of influence of bands, but without surpassing the Knights of the MIDNIGHT Metal warriors.

„Foul Spirit Within” is pretty much Hellhammer with a bit of more melody. „Cross Damnation” is like left off from one of the first two Venom albums. Fast, energic, no mercy here, just plain violence! „Grave Encounters” uses a cheap 80s horror soundtrack synth to introduce a Slayer-like riff, and I am talking about the first two Slayer albums, that old school evil metal, before the „thrash” movement. „Black Order” is straight-forward punk/thrash/black in the best Bathory traditions, while „Hail To Cruelty” is Venom-ish again, while the vocals are in the early Bathory style.

As you see, there are songs with a beat from Motörhead, songs with Bathory-like riffs, early Slayer evil feeling, Venom black’n’roll themes. This could have been released in 1984. But it wasn’t, so it won’t be a classic any soon.  A tribute for 80s metal, not that fancy as Midnight, however more than decent tribute, with no direct riff-stealings and true 80s worship!

http://www.joelgrind.com

Written by Rob

December, 2014

Rating: 7 / 10