Goatsnake: Black Age Blues (2015)

Hey, Yeah

For the uninitiated, Goatsnake are minor legends of doom metal. If you need to know their philosophy, the liner notes to one of their records list all their gear (only the best) alongside Black Sabbath riffs. In other words, they are unapologetically old-school.

Well, it’s been eleven years since they’ve released any new material, and even though Metal Archives says they’ve been active for all the years since 2004, I think that’s an overstatement. Playing a show here and there isn’t “active” in the same sense that you and I would use the word. In a sense, this is a long-awaited reunion.



And how does it sound? This is not the depressing doom I usually gravitate toward. Instead, it's practically upbeat, and catchy, with a Southern flair (despite their geographic origin). The wonderful "Coffee & Whiskey" sums things up nicely, the chorus, "Coffee whiskey, 'til the cows are coming home" and the riffs practically drawling under energetic solos. Even the pounding "Graves," with that ill-boding title and "Steal the light from the sun" doesn't trip my dark mood; it puts a smile on my face and involuntarily bangs my head for me.

Clean, manly vocals over catchy doom metal riffs. That’s all you need. But nice added touches lie in the harmonica of “Elevated Man,” the Hendrix-esque “Hey, yeah” emphasis points on “Jimi’s Gone,” and gospel-inspired female backing vocals (appropriately by a group called Dem Preacher's Daughters).

Don't miss this one.

The Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars

Bonus Feature! I drew a goatsnake:

Studio Ghibli Drawings

OK, I promise this isn't going to completely transform into a poorly formatted stand-in for a Deviantart page. (Maybe I should sign up for a Deviantart, but anyway.) I still wanted to share some more drawings. I've found I really enjoy working with ink, and I'm slowly getting better at using it.

I fell in love with Studio Ghibli films more than a decade ago, and my kids and I were watching some of them over the past few days. I really love how this Totoro picture turned out. I think it captures the sense of wonder and joy the film so perfectly displays.

I'm also extremely pleased with this Spirited Away drawing. I did this one prior to the Totoro pic, and I think it's pretty clear I made some progress with my shading technique by the time I did the second one.

The Lich and Pinkie Pie

I like to draw characters from shows that I watch with my kids. Here are the Lich (of Adventure Time) and Pinkie Pie (of My Little Pony Equestria Girls).

Joshua's Dungeon

Since this has always been a blog where I share whatever I feel like sharing, I thought I'd start posting some of the drawings I've been doing lately.

This is a dramatic/triumphant scene from history's greatest TV show, Adventure Time, where Finn obtains a sword that's literally made out of demon's blood and faces down a giant, maniacal monster.

King Diamond / Lightning McQueen

This may be the greatest thing I've ever done.

Kitsune-Ryu

How the West was really won

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lincoln!

Today is my son Lincoln's third birthday. We had his party yesterday. We made the invitations together. Using blank cards, I drew robots on them and he colored them.

The party had a robot theme. I designed the cake, and my mom built a robot out of his wrapped presents.

 

Happy birthday!

Sir Al of Gator

Elephant Ninja

Count Sheepula

Jeopardy!

I hate this time of year, because one of my favorite shows keeps getting preempted by basketball, a sport I do not care to watch.

Ganesh

Froot Dragons

Nautilus

The Trumpeting Wildebaarq

Aardragon

Raider Sketch

By now, I have presented the original of this sketch to my dad for his birthday, which was a couple weeks ago. It's based on this picture taken in 2007, one of my favorites. Making it was extremely therapeutic for me. I still miss you, Raider. I know by now you've caught a few rabbits up in heaven.

Beaver Pirate