Goat Horn
Storming the Gates

September 2003
Released: 2003, October 32nd Records
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: Rick

Where has this band been hiding itself? I love bands like this. They are the middle of the road in terms of metal, the bastard child of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. Kind of like a souped up Cathedral, who incidentally were one of the first bands these guys jammed when they got together. Having never heard this band before receiving STORMING THE GATES, I went back to the Metal-Rules.com CD review archive to read up on their previous material and I was pretty surprised at the impact they had on our writers. Goat Horn impressed with their fuck everyone attitude and that seems to have carried over to the new CD. Vocalist/bassist Jason Decay, guitar player Brandon Wars and drummer Steel Rider (cheesy names but they fit) relocated to Toronto after the release of their debut disc have made Goat Horn their number one musical priority.



The first thing that hits you while spinning this CD is the ultra heavy sound on the recording. The bottom heavy sound was realized by the use of analog equipment in the recording of STORMING THE GATES. I really like the sound quality of the CD. The warm, slightly murky production adds to songs instead of taking away. I am usually a fan of crystal clear production but in this case I am sure it would take away the “magic” that makes Goat Horn what they are. There is a little bit of everything on STORMING THE GATES. Their slower doomier side is represented on the first half of the CD with “To The Cliff” and the powerful and more importantly seemingly Cathedral influenced “Final Sentence/Finally Sentenced”. A small Cathedral influence pervades the whole CD yet there are few places where it actually takes as powerful a hold as on the aforementioned track. The second half of the disc really picks up the tempo. “Fortressed Doomed” is a galloping romp and “The Last Force” is a powermetal-influenced barnburner. The surprise of the CD is a cover of “Re-Animation” by Canadian thrash legends Sacrifice. I thought I must have been hearing things when I heard the first riff but it is indeed a cover of one of the most memorable songs to Canadian metal heads as it was used as the opening song for Much Music’s The Power Hour for a number of years. Goat Horn do an admirable job and further diversify their already varied sound.



Goat Horn have a bit of everything on this CD: doom, traditional metal, thrash and even a tiny powermetal moment. Most bands trying to attempt this would sound disjointed and seem like they really don’t know what they are doing, Goat Horn fortunately don’t have that problem. There is not one song on this disc that isn’t 100% Goat Horn. Their personality shines through and even though it seems that they have gotten more serious about their music their sense of humour is still evident. So crack open a beer, turn on the black light and crank some Goat Horn!!!!!!