On their seventh record „Vengeful Ascension“, the Americans GOATWHORE once more managed to perfectly mix black, death and thrash metal like no other band and therefor to create a diverse, powerful, yet catchy album. In the following interview, drummer Zack Simmons revealed to us, how the band is able to still play with passion after all those years, why their latest record starts with the rather slowed down, groovy „Forsaken“, what’s the story behind the artful, occult artwork and other things.
You are known for being in between black, death and thrash metal. What exactly excites you about these three genres?
There are so many genres that excite each of us and to me, in the metal side of things, I don’t like that this genre gets dissected as much as it does in a general sense. We have influences that reach far and wide within the rock and metal realm and these days we are less hesitant to include those influences in our music. There is an invisible set of “rules” or limitations for whatever genre or sub-genre but we just concentrate on being true to ourselves.
You’ve been making music for quite some time now. How do you manage to not just play the same over and over again to the point of being bored, but rather still keep making music with excitement and passion?
We honestly just really love playing heavy metal and appreciate every aspect of what we do. It helps quite a bit when we like each other too, I suppose. We, individually are constantly challenging ourselves as musicians and striving to improve in any way possible. We’re all gear nerds so that makes things constantly exciting. Constantly pushing ourselves, you know?
How did your songwriting change over the course of your musical career?
The biggest change was just being more proactive during our downtime from touring. The most significant work is done when we are physically jamming together. But since some live in different cities, it’s smart to send ideas back and forth and have time to reflect on things.
It was said that your new album „Vengeful Ascension“ contains all the elements that were characteristic of your music up until now. What exactly, do you think, does this mean?
That’s absolutely true. Some may think we take small steps or whatever but I’m not sure they actually listen. People in general, I think, don’t really listen with open minds anymore. Anyway, we wrote a record that was fun for us, very diverse in terms of song styling, and hopefully enjoyable to fans and people that have to listen to it. I feel this record contains DNA from where this band has been in the past but is also a link to where we are going in the future.
Do you think your new record sets itself apart from the ones before? If so, in which way?
Well, for starters, it’s the new one, so I guess that sets it apart in a way! (laughs) I guess it is just a progress report of our experience as musicians and a representation of our collective experience. The way we went about recording and producing this record was quite different than the previous ones but that’s not very fun to talk about. I think this album, in a way, connects everything we have done in the past but also forges new ground. I feel it is a very genuine album. One that shows quite a bit of growth and I hope that shows.
„Forsaken“ starts the album in a rather slow way with a lot of groove, at least for your standards. Why did you choose to start it that way instead of just going all brutal right from the start?
Ever since we started working on that song, then kept working on the other ones, it just became one of my personal favorites as an opener for the album. Drums were done being tracked in the studio and we were about to tear all the microphones down when I had an intro idea in my head for the beginning of that song. I did five or six takes on a floor tom doing multiple overlaying things. I was thinking of a cannibal tribe in a jungle. With the fade-in on the record as the first track I was secretly hoping that people would blow their speakers.
I think that the extremes, the contrast between the calm, mysterious and the brutal songs, on this album is bigger than before. Would you agree and if so, what’s the reason for this?
I definitely agree with you. Every song on this record, I feel, has its own identity and is very different from one another. To amplify this aspect, we were careful and thoughtful when it came to the sequencing and order of the album and how certain songs flowed into one another. That’s an aspect that a lot of listeners sometimes don’t consider.
Is there a track on „Vengeful Ascension“, that you favor the most? If so, which one and why?
It’s kind of funny because normally I’ll listen back to one of our albums after it comes out and I’ll regret certain things. I’m really fucking picky like that. With this album, I see it as a complete song almost. It’s a movement and best consumed in full. To actually answer your question though, I’d have to say which songs that I’m most excited about playing live. Those would be “Drowned In Grim Rebirth” and “Forsaken”.
Why did you choose „Vengeful Ascension“ as the album’s title? In which way is it connected to the lyrics?
Honestly, as the drummer in the band, I’m most connected to Sammy when we are writing the music and constructing the foundation. Once the musical base solidifies, lyrics and concepts are applied. There is a loose, constant theme with this record, which runs through the lyrics and also the artwork. I, personally like to figure these things out for myself with albums I listen to as a fan or that I am a part of. The world is yours.
How was the general feedback to your new record? And is this of importance to you?
The response to the album from fans and critics has been very, very positive from what I’ve seen so far. The importance of that goes two different ways though, honestly. In one instance, we’ve worked really hard on a collection of songs and put a lot of time into things so we, at the end of the day hope our fans enjoy it. On the other end, if it were to go the other way, as long as we were happy with the end result, it stops there. Either way, as long as we believe in what we’re doing things will normally end up alright. If we were happy with writing a shit record and it was indeed a shit record, then we’d have to reevaluate some things, you know what I mean? The real fans decide these things but our quality control is normally on point.
The artwork looks quite artistic and occult. Was there a certain thought behind it or did you go with what the artist came up with himself?
We have a great friend and partner in a guy from New Orleans, Jordan Barlow. He’s done the artwork for our last three albums and has been in close collaboration with us for years. He is an in-demand tattoo artist in the city and lends his talents to many different bands when he has time. We approach him with a theme or an idea and we go from there. It’s amazing to see how this process works actually. Ben will give him an idea or a blueprint and to see what this guy comes up with is so fucking amazing. The actual painting for this album artwork is over four feet tall. It really is the perfect visual for the music and strays away from the cartoon metal art we see a lot these days.
What are your next plans for GOATWHORE?
We are gearing up to tour North America with Venom Inc. and Toxic Holocaust on September 1st. This is one of those tours for us, collectively, that we’re very excited for. To be able to play your own music, especially these new songs, that we are very eager to play and be able to hear a band that you respect so much, every fucking night, is a real treat. I think this tour is a superb matchup of bands in terms of relevance and retaining roots.
Holy shit. You read my mind right here because I didn’t pre-read these questions at all. I guess you can maybe tell that I and the rest of my band are extremely ready to play songs from our new record live and also be able to hear classic songs from a band we love every night for five weeks. Life could be much worse.
Now, let’s go on with our traditional Metal1.info-Brainstorming:
Best album of 2017 up until now: I’m not saying BEST but I am VERY excited for the new Portrait. Also, Vallenfyre’s “Fear Those Who Fear Him”.
Ritual: Sleeping
Screams – growls: Ben Falgoust
Enlightenment: Sammy Duet
President Trump: Puppet
GOATWHORE in ten years: Ten years older.
Altight, thanks again for your answers. Is there still something that you want to tell our readers?
Thank you for reading and we hope to play for you very soon!
22. November 2017 Stephan Rajchl