𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
9 years ago today, we experienced the “Poisonous Existence In Reawakening”!
On this day (July 8 ) in 2014, Goatwhore released their sixth full-length studio album, “Constricting Rage of the Merciless” via Metal Blade Records.
Background:
“Constricting Rage of the Merciless” was recorded with producer Erik Rutan at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, FL. This was Goatwhore‘s fourth studio outing with Rutan at the helm, and to achieve an even more dark and powerful tone on this album, all drums, bass, and rhythm guitars were tracked to 2-inch tape!
Erik Rutan commented on the recording sessions:
“Working with Goatwhore again for our 4th album together was amazing! It is through our experience and established trust and bond in the studio that allowed us to push each other to the limits, only to achieve the best performances and tones we could. This album came out so dynamic and huge, partly due to the fact that we recorded drums, bass, and main rhythm guitars to analog tape. Goatwhore has a massive sound and we all felt recording to analog would be the best way to capture it, giving it a very unique quality and feel, built off of integrity and vibe. This is our finest moment working together and the guys did an incredible job creating and performing all the songs on this record. Goatwhore fans be prepared!”
The recording of the album was completed on March 10, 2014.
The band celebrated the release with a meet and greet at the world famous Grill ‘Em All brick and mortar restaurant in Alhambra, California. Kicked off at 7:00 pm on Wednesday July 16th, fans had the chance to hang with the band, hear the record in full as well as purchase a copy if they hadn’t already. Additionally, Grill ‘Em All added to the unholy revelry with special "Constricting Rage Of The Merciless" fries – Hand cut fries smothered in creole gumbo with chicken, smoked sausage, and shrimp.
The Constricting Rage of the Merciless Tour:
Goatwhore toured extensively throughout 2014-2015 in support of "Constricting Rage of the Merciless".
The Metal Alliance Tour:
Goatwhore toured as part of the Metal Alliance Tour 2014, touring as support for headliners Behemoth, along with 1349, Inquisition, and Black Crown Initiate. The band announced the release of their album on March 26, 2014 during the Metal Alliance tour, which began on April 4th, 2014 in Tempe, AZ and ran through May 3rd. Complete tour dates are listed below:
Goatwhore Tour w/ Black Crown Initiate:
04/02 San Antonio, TX Korova w/ Old and Ill, Aggravator, Plutonium Shore
04/03 El Paso, TX Tricky Falls
Tour Dates for The Metal Alliance Tour w/ Behemoth, 1349, Inquisition, Black Crown Initiate:
04/04 Tempe, AZ Club Owl/ Club Red
04/05 West Hollywood, CA House Of Blues
04/06 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom
04/08 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre
04/11 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
04/12 Austin, TX Emo’s East
04/13 Houston, TX House Of Blues
04/15 Orlando, FL Beacham Theatre
04/16 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
04/17 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts
04/18 Worcester, MA The Palladium
04/19 New York, NY Irving Plaza
04/22 Montreal, QC Club Soda
04/23 Toronto, ON The Opera House
04/24 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre
04/25 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
04/26 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theater- Studio B
04/27 Winnipeg, MB The Garrick
04/29 Calgary, AB MacEwan Hall
04/30 Edmonton, AB Union Hall
05/02 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
05/03 Seattle, WA Studio Seven
Headlining shows w/ Black Crown Initiate:
05/05 Missoula, MT The Palace
05/06 Salt Lake City, UT Gino’s
05/07 Cheyenne, WY Ernie November Records
05/09 Oklahoma City, OK Leon’s Lounge @ the Chameleon
05/10 Bossier City, LA Back to Back
Bassist James Harvey decided to sit out touring, due to the birth of his son, so Robert Coleman was hired to fill in for him on live shows.
Fans who saw Goatwhore live on the road as part of the Metal Alliance tour were given the opportunity to reserve a copy of the CD at the band’s merch booth. Those pre-orders included a special limited edition/exclusive album laminate and and exclusive t-shirt. The ONLY way to get the laminate and t-shirt was through this bundle at the band’s merch booth on tour! The laminates included a unique pre-order code to enter on-line to have the album shipped right to the buyer’s door upon release of the album! Complete redemption instructions were printed on the laminate.
Goatwhore leveled stages across the US on a Summer-long live tirade that also included a twenty-two date run on the Summer Slaughter tour (2014). The band then made their way to Europe the following Fall/Winter as support for Dying Fetus. The tour commenced on November 8th in Liege, Belgium, the epic trek toppled nearly four dozen metropolises, coming to a close on December 20th in Leer, Germany. Additional support was provided by Malevolence and Fallujah.
Summer Slaughter Tour w/ Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, The Faceless, Thy Art Is Murder, Origin, Decrepit Birth, Within The Ruins, Fallujah:
07/17/2014 The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
07/18/2014 The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
07/19/2014 House of Blues – West Hollywood, CA
07/20/2014 Nile Theater – Phoenix, AZ
07/21/2014 Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX
07/22/2014 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
07/23/2014 Summit – Denver, CO
07/25/2014 House Of Blues – Houston, TX
07/26/2014 Scoot Inn – Austin, TX
07/27/2014 Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
07/29/2014 State Theater St. – Petersburg, FL
07/30/2014 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
07/31/2014 The International – Knoxville, TN
08/01/2014 Agora Theatre – Cleveland, OH
08/02/2014 Mojoes – Chicago, IL
08/03/2014 Skyway Theatre – Minneapolis, MN
08/05/2014 The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
08/06/2014 Crofoot Ballroom – Detroit, MI
08/07/2014 Rapids Theatre – Niagara Falls, NY
08/08/2014 Irving Plaza – New York, NY
08/09/2014 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
08/10/2014 The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA
End Tour
08/16/2014 Gwar B-Q @ Hadad’s Lake – Richmond, VA
w/ Dying Fetus, Malevolence, Fallujah:
11/8/2014 Fonck – Liege, BE
11/9/2014 Turock – Essen, DE
11/10/2014 11er – Frankfurt, DE
11/11/2014 Beatclub – Dessau, DE
11/12/2014 Meet Factory – Prague, CZ
11/13/2014 Rockfabrik – Ludwigsburg, DE
11/14/2014 Lido – Berlin, DE
11/15/2014 Dynamo – Eindhoven, NL
11/16/2014 Exhaus – Trier, DE
11/17/2014 Audio – Brighton, GB
11/18/2014 Clwb Ifor – Bach Cardiff, GB
11/19/2014 Cathouse – Glasgow, GB
11/20/2014 Voodoo Lounge – Dublin, IE
11/21/2014 Sound Control – Manchester, GB
11/22/2014 Slade Rooms – Wolverhampton, GB
11/23/2014 Garage – London, GB
11/24/2014 Divan Du Monde – Paris, FR
11/25/2014 La Dynamo – Toulouse, FR
11/26/2014 Escenario – Santander, ES
11/27/2014 Hard Club – Porto, PT
11/28/2014 Penélope – Madrid, ES
11/29/2014 Estraperlo – Club Badalona, ES
11/30/2014 Paloma – Nimes, FR
12/1/2014 Le Tremplin – Clermont-Ferrand, FR
12/2/2014 Kiff – Aarau, CH
12/3/2014 Circolo Colony – Brescia, IT
12/4/2014 Backstage – München, DE
12/5/2014 Blue Hell – Budapest, HU
12/6/2014 Gala Hala – Ljubljana, SI
12/7/2014 Flying Circus – Cluj-Napoca, RO
12/8/2014 Jet Rock – Sofia, BG
12/9/2014 Club Rockstadt – Brasov, RO
12/10/2014 Collosseum – Kosice, SI
12/11/2014 Viper Room – Wien, AT
12/12/2014 Rockfabrik – Nürnberg, DE
12/13/2014 Voxhall – Aarhus, DK
12/14/2014 John Dee – Oslo, NO
12/16/2014 Nosturi – Helsinki, FI
12/18/2014 Debaser Medis – Stockholm, SE
12/19/2014 Kaiserkeller, Große Freiheit – Hambur, DE
12/20/2014 Zollhaus – Leer, DE
Goatwhore returned to Europe in April of 2015 as direct support for the Skeletonwitch European tour. Mortals opened up for both bands.
Goatwhore commented prior to the tour:
“After being part of a really successful European and UK tour with Dying Fetus, Malevolence and Fallujah for the last 6 weeks, I am really stoked to be returning in April with our good friends in Skeletonwitch & Mortals to offer another dose of Extreme Metal to our European and UK fans. This will be a crushing experience to all that attend. We would like to thank everyone that attended the shows in November & December. See you in 2015!“
Skeletonwitch+ Goatwhore+ Mortals:
04/03/15 NO – Oslo – Inferno Fest (SW/GW only)
04/04/15 SE – Motala – Kulturakademin
04/06/15 DK – Copenhagen – Pumpehuset
04/07/15 DE – Hamburg – Hafenklang
04/08/15 DE – Osnabrück – Bastard Club
04/11/15 UK – Manchester – Sound Control
04/12/15 IE – Dublin – Voodoo Lounge
04/13/15 UK – Glasgow – Ivory Blacks
04/14/15 UK – Birmingham – The Oobleck
04/15/15 UK – Sheffield – Corporation
04/16/15 UK – London – Underworld
04/17/15 BE – Brussels – Magasin 4
04/04/15 DE – Köln – Underground
04/19/15 FR – Eragny/Paris – Covent Garden
04/20/15 FR – Angouleme – La Nef
04/21/15 ES – Madrid – Sala Lemon
04/22/15 ES – Barcelona – Sala Razz 3
04/23/15 FR – Lyon – MJC O Totem
04/24/15 CH – Zürich – Dynamo / Werk 21
04/25/15 IT – Milan – Lo Fi
04/26/15 IT – Rome – Traffic Live
04/27/15 AT – Innsbruck – p.m.k.
04/28/15 DE – München – Backstage
04/29/15 DE – Leipzig – Conne Island
04/30/15 DE – Berlin – Magnet
05/01/15 AT – Wien – Arena
05/02/15 CZ – Prague – Exit-us
Goatwhore, Ringworm, Black Breath and Theories Tour Dates:
06/06 -- Houston, Texas -- FreePress Summer Festival 2015
06/07 -- San Antonio, Texas -- Paper Tiger
06/08 -- Austin, Texas -- Inside @ Red 7
06/09 -- El Paso, Texas -- Tricky Falls
06/10 -- Albuquerque, N.M. -- Launchpad
06/11 -- Mesa, Ariz. -- Club Red
06/12 -- San Diego, Calif. -- Soda Bar
06/13 -- Fresno, Calif. -- Stummer's
06/14 -- West Hollywood, Calif. -- The Roxy Theatre
06/15 -- Santa Cruz, Calif. -- The Catalyst Atrium
06/16 -- Oakland, Calif. -- Oakland Metro Operahouse
06/17 -- Salem, Ore. -- Duffy's Hangar06/18 -- Seattle, Wash. -- The Crocodile
06/19 -- Vancouver, British Columbia -- The Rickshaw Theatre
06/20 -- Kelowna, British Columbia -- Level Upstairs
06/21 -- Calgary, Alberta -- Dickens Pub
06/22 -- Edmonton, Alberta -- The Starlite
06/23 -- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan -- O'Brian's Event Centre
06/24 -- Regina, Saskatchewan -- The Exchange
06/25 -- Winnipeg, Manitoba The Zoo Cabaret
06/26 -- Minneapolis, Minn. -- Triple Rock Social Club
06/27 -- Chicago, Ill. -- Reggie's Rock Club
06/28 -- Detroit, Mich. -- Majestic Jr.
06/29 -- Cleveland, Ohio -- Now That's Class
06/30 -- Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The Altar Bar
07/01 -- Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Lost Horizon
07/02 -- Toronto, Ontario -- Hard Luck Bar
07/03 -- Montreal, Quebec -- Les Foufounes Electriques
07/04 -- Ottawa, Ontario -- Mavericks
07/05 -- Allston, Mass. -- Brighton Music Hall
07/06 -- Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Saint Vitus Bar
07/08 -- Philadelphia, Pa. -- Underground Arts: Black Box
07/09 -- Washington D.C. -- Rock & Roll Hotel
07/11 -- West Columbia, S.C. -- New Brookland Tavern
07/12 -- Atlanta, Ga. -- The Earl
The road warriors in Goatwhore packed their artillery for another run of live assaults later in 2015. The infiltration commenced on Saturday, August 15th in Richmond, Virginia as part of the annual Gwar B-Q gala. From there, the band united with support act – St. Louis metal troupe, Black Fast — and razed nine venues in seven states before bringing the proceedings to a ceremonial close with a special hometown performance alongside sludge brethren, Crowbar, at the House Of Blues in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 28th. The latest stretch of onstage debauchery followed the band’s wildly successful North American headlining tour with support from Ringworm, Black Breath and labelmates, Theories.
Goatwhore:
08/15/2015 Gwar B-Q @ Hadad’s Lake – Richmond, VA
w/ Black Fast:
08/16/2015 Cafe 611 – Frederick, MD
08/17/2015 V Club – Huntington, WV
08/18/2015 Expo Five – Louisville, KY
08/19/2015 Thompson House – Newport, KY
08/21/2015 Frankie’s – Toledo, OH
08/22/2015 Mac’s – Lansing, MI
08/23/2015 5th Quarter – Indianapolis, IN
08/24/2015 Fubar – St. Louis, MO
08/25/2015 Riot Room Midnight Metal – Kansas City, MO
End Tour:
08/28/2015 House of Blues – New Orleans, LA w/ Crowbar
Performance & Critical Reception:
“Constricting Rage Of The Merciless” debuted at #81 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, toppling their last entry position of #171 with “Blood for the Master.” Additionally, the album ranked in at #21 on Billboard’s Rock chart, #7 on the Hard Rock chart and #13 on the Independent chart.
In an interview with Blabbermouth.net, Ray van Horn said that "Constricting Rage of the Merciless” is so crazy fast and so stinking heavy you won't need anything else in your player for at least a week".
John Paul of PopMatters said that "Constricting Rage of the Merciless” is a thrilling ride" and it is "unrelentingly pummeling and brutally oppressive".
Zoey Camp of Pitchfork said;
“Ultimately, Constricting Rage will either prove redundant or ravishing."
Michael Tolan of The Austin Chronicle stated;
"Goatwhore channels every evil impulse of its blackened death thrash into Constricting Rage of the Merciless, sixth LP of ill intent."
James Christopher Monger of AllMusic said;
"They are ruthlessly efficient, unmerciful, redundant, triumphant, and wholly invested in darkness, volume, destruction, and little else."
Daniel Marsicano of Lambgoat said in his closing comments;
"For those looking for music that'll make for sore necks and destructive tendencies, “Constricting Rage of the Merciless” will provide satisfaction".
Gregg Pratt of Exclaim! said that "Baring Teeth for Revolt" stands out as being particularly punk rock".
Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:
Click this link to listen to “Constricting Rage of the Merciless” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/constricting-rage-of-the-merciless/881910171
Click this link to listen to “Constricting Rage of the Merciless” via Spotify: Constricting Rage of the Merciless https://open.spotify.com/album/3QbTZRKjsh4cul7nYj5k1n
Click this link to watch the official music video for “Poisonous Existence In Reawakening”: https://youtu.be/HDZ5mS4bvaQ
Click this link to watch the official music video for “Baring Teeth for Revolt”: https://youtu.be/9FT5FowymII
Click this link to watch the official music video for “Nocturnal Conjuration of the Accursed”: https://youtu.be/l0ixTdelJzQ
Click this link to follow GOATWHORE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegoat666
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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