Interview by Kris Peters
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and if that is true, then crushing extreme metal outfit Goatwhore will be earning themselves plenty of hugs when they return to Australia this July as part of the Turn Troubled Tables Tour with Eyehategod.
Goatwhore have been absent from our shores for almost a decade, last venturing over to this side of world for a brutal run of shows with Psycroptic in 2015. Now, two albums and a shit tonne of shows later, the masters of all they survey are preparing for another assault on our senses, with guitarist Sammy Duet telling HEAVY in a recent chat that the band have some unfinished business with Australian fans.
"We've put out a couple of records (since the 2015 tour)," he affirmed. "Not much else. I've got a lot more grey in my beard now since the last time I was in Australia (laughs)."
We ask Sammy what we can expect from their shows.
"Lots of loud, Satanic heavy metal," he promised. We pushed him further on the live shows by asking what the band expects in return from their crowds.
"I like them to do whatever they feel like doing," he shrugged. "If they feel like getting wild and getting crazy, get wild and crazy. If you feel like sitting back and watching and observing, that's cool too. Whatever Satan takes hold of your soul and makes you wanna do, do it."
In the full interview, Sammy tells us where the name Goatwhore came from, talks about the early days of the band and where they fit in, describes the musical climate that gave birth to Goatwhore, their brutal combination of genres and how they blend together to make the Goatwhore sound, his reaction to people who label the band controversial, how far advanced their next album is and more.