Goatsnake is an American stoner/

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

band from Los Angeles, California. They have released three studio albums, the first being 1999's '' Goatsnake Vol. 1''.

Biography

Goatsnake was formed in 1996 after the disbanding of

The Obsessed The Obsessed is an American heavy metal band from Potomac, Maryland, led by Scott "Wino" Weinrich. The band combines elements of doom metal, stoner rock, and punk rock. Formed in 1980, they recorded a few demos and played a handful of liv ...

. After The Obsessed's disbanding, the rhythm section consisting of bassist Guy Pinhas (also former of the Dutch

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

) and drummer Greg Rogers began jamming with guitarist Greg Anderson (

Thorr's Hammer Thorr's Hammer was an American-Norwegian death-doom band. History Thorr's Hammer was formed in Ballard, Seattle, Washington by Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley during winter 1994–1995. Soon after, Runhild Gammelsæter, then a 17-year-ol ...

Burning Witch Burning Witch was an American doom metal band from Seattle, Washington, active between 1995 and 1998. Aside from EPs and split releases, the band released a compilation album called '' Crippled Lucifer'', which had songs of their early EPs. Hi ...

Sunn O))) Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, bla ...

). They soon found a vocalist in

Pete Stahl Peter Marc Stahl is an American musician best known for fronting the Virginia-based punk/hardcore band Scream with his brother Franz. Early on, Scream also featured Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums who credited Pete ...

(

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

Earthlings? earthlings? is an American psychedelic rock band based in Joshua Tree, California. The band includes members from Queens of the Stone Age, Desert Sessions, Eagles of Death Metal, Kyuss, Masters of Reality, Goatsnake, The Twilight Singers, Gu ...

The Desert Sessions The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, John McBain, Ben Shepherd, Josh Freese, Chris Goss, Alain ...

). Goatsnake recorded and released two 7" EPs in 1998 and were featured on several metal compilations. They released their debut full-length, '' 1'', in 1999 on

Man's Ruin Records Man's Ruin Records was an independent record label owned and founded by San Francisco Bay Area artist Frank Kozik. After the 1994 release of Man's Ruin's first record ''Experimental Audio Research (EAR): Delta 6'' Kozik worked with artists whom ...

Rise Above Records Rise Above Records is a London-based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian (of the band Cathedral and formerly of Napalm Death). Founding Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoi ...

. Goatsnake toured Europe in support of their debut album and played with bands such as

Unida Unida () is an American stoner rock band, originally formed in 1998 by John Garcia of Kyuss and Slo Burn. History Formation, Dozer split, and ''Coping with the Urban Coyote'' (1998–1999) Following the dissolution of Kyuss in 1995, for ...

Fatso Jetson Fatso Jetson is an American desert rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1994 by Yawning Man members Mario Lalli and Larry Lalli, along with Tony Tornay. They are often credited as the fathers of the desert strain of stoner rock la ...

, and

Electric Wizard Electric Wizard are an English doom metal band from Dorset. The band formed in 1993 and have recorded nine studio albums, two of which have been considered genre landmarks: '' Come My Fanatics…'' (1997) and ''Dopethrone'' (2000). Electric Wi ...

. They returned in 2000 for a UK tour with

Orange Goblin Orange Goblin is a heavy metal band from London, England. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong. History Orange Goblin was originally f ...

and

, another Anderson project. In 2000 Pinhas left Goatsnake to join

Acid King Acid King is an American stoner metal band from San Francisco, California. It was formed in 1993 by frontwoman Lori S., drummer Joey Osbourne and bassist Peter Lucas. Acid King have since recorded four studio albums and two EPs with a series o ...

and was replaced by Stuart Dahlquist of

. Later that year Goatsnake released a split album with Burning Witch on

Hydra Head Records Hydra Head Records was an independent record label that specializes in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experiment ...

. They also released the ''

Dog Days The dog days or are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the "Dog Star"), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sud ...

'' EP on Anderson's

Southern Lord Records Southern Lord is an American heavy metal record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson. It specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to include arti ...

that same year. They went on to release their second album, ''

Flower of Disease ''Flower of Disease'' is an album by American doom metal band Goatsnake, released in 2000. The LP version was released by Southern Lord Records. Critical reception AllMusic called the album "an enjoyable listen", writing that it "is a perfect ...

'' on Man's Ruin Records/Rise Above Records. The band split up in 2001 and Anderson continued with Sunn O))) and played in

Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine is an English drone doom supergroup, formed in 2001 with musicians from other metal bands. The name is taken from the second song from the Earth album '' Earth 2''. The music is slow and heavy, similar to the m ...

. In 2004 the band reformed with Anderson and Stahl being joined by bassist Scott Reeder (The Obsessed,

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, D ...

) and drummer JR Conners (

Cave In Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalcore ...

). They recorded three songs which were released on the '' Trampled Under Hoof'' EP along with two previously vinyl-only tracks. This same year also saw the release of the compilation ''1 + Dog Days'' by Southern Lord Records, which combines the first album and the ''Dog Days'' EP as well as a track from the ''Man of Light'' EP. Goatsnake reunited in 2010 with the original line up to headlining the

Roadburn Festival Roadburn Festival is an international music festival held in Tilburg, Netherlands every April since 1999. It was set up as a spin-off from the Roadburn music blog founded by Jurgen van den Brand and Walter Hoeijmakers. Originally focused on stone ...

on Thursday April 15. To coincide with the reunion a re-issue of ''Flower of Disease'' came out around the same time.
On June 16, 2011 the band played another rare reunion show as special guests to

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

at The Forum in London, England. Original members Anderson, Stahl, and Rogers, along with new bassist Scott Renner, and acclaimed record producer Nick Raskulinecz began working on a new full-length album, Black Age Blues, which was released in 2015. The current Goatsnake line up also played shows in October 2014 including the Southern Lord Records showcase in Los Angeles, California and the Southwest Terror Fest in Tucson, Arizona.

Discography

Albums

* ''

Goatsnake Vol. 1 ''Vol. 1'' is the debut album by American doom metal band Goatsnake. It includes the former rhythm section of The Obsessed, consisting of Guy Pinhas and Greg Rogers, as well as Greg Anderson of Sunn O))) and Pete Stahl of Scream and Wool. Tr ...

'' CD (

1999) * ''

'' CD (Man's Ruin Records 2000) * ''Black Age Blues'' CD (

2015)

EPs

* ''IV'' 7" (Prosthetic Records 1998) * ''Man of Light'' 7" (Warpburner Records 1998) * ''Goatsnake/Burning Witch split'' CD (

2000) * ''

'' CD (Southern Lord Records 2000) * '' Trampled Under Hoof'' CD (Southern Lord Records 2004)

Compilations/reissues

* ''1 + Dog Days'' CD (Southern Lord Records 2004)

Compilation tracks

* "Hot Rod" on ''Rise 13: Magick Rock, Vol. 1'' (

1999)

Band members

– vocals, harmonica * Greg Anderson – guitar *Scott Renner – bass *Greg Rogers – drums

Former members

*Guy Pinhas – bass * Scott Reeder – bass *G. Stuart Dahlquist – bass *

Joey Castillo Joseph William Castillo (born March 30, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx an ...

– drums *JR – drums

References

External links

Southern Lord band page
(archived)
Encyclopaedia Metallum
{{Authority control American doom metal musical groups American stoner rock musical groups Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Musical groups from Los Angeles Southern Lord Records artists Musical quartets Drone metal musical groups