The Austrasian Goat is a Black/Funeral Doom Metal project of Julien Louvet a.k.a. The Goat and has released a large number of splits and EPs and one full-length in the past. The Austrasian Goat is an effective combination of Funeral Doom and Black Metal, carefully combining the heavy, depressive sound of Funeral Doom metal with tremolo-picked, blast-beat-laden, Black Metal to create a truly depressive atmosphere rivaling even the best depressive Black Metal bands.
Stains of Resignation is the project's second full-length album, clocking at 1 hour and 4 minutes, this album is lengthy, and anyone without patience could get bored after a while. Though the only other release by The Austrasian Goat I have heard is the Void EP, I am assuming that The Goat has changed the overall sound. Yet, the album manages to keep a slow tempo and melancholic sound that doesn't rob it of the main element that made The Austrasian Goat different from most bands. Every song still manages to be different from the other. This is especially seen in songs like Voice of Aenima and Arrheton and the inclusion of Shoegaze and Noise/Drone elements in the music. Another addition appears to be clean vocals and acoustic sections, and an overall less Funeral Doom-y sound, and more inclined towards Atmospheric Black Metal.
The Shoegaze/Drone elements of the music are more noticeable, compared to the Funeral Doom elements in this album. At times, the album sounds like a Black Metal version of The Angelic Process. The riffs are distinct in the songs without these elements. The drums are a sidelined part of the music, as with most drone, except in songs that have a distinct Black Metal vibe to them. The second half of he album has nearly no Funeral Doom song, and is filled with drone-driven Black Metal. The album is bass-heavy throughout and that's where the Doom elements persists and doesn't die out completely. The vocals switch from shrieks/rasps to clean singing from song to song.
Attempting to experiment and keep up variety, The Goat came up with a rather flawed and imperfect album. Not that his previous works were perfect, but they surely did work really well. Maybe the shift in sound was not easy to digest for me, because I gave this a listen expecting some Funeral Doom, and the album might grow on me, but yet, the album is quite flawed in the attempted experimentation, but in no way fails to deliver good quality Black Metal. Stay away from this if you expect Funeral Doom Metal, but if you want some good Black Metal, do get it.
Note: The Austrasian Goat Self-titled CD is expensive to the limit of being unaffordable on Amazon.com
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Piano and Stump Vinyl:
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