By Gruesome Greg

My first reaction when asked to review Blackwolfgoat was “Dayum, that’s a stupid band name. Are they cousins of Manbearpig, or something?” But despite the awkward moniker, Small Stone Records saw enough of something to sign these guys. The current home of such stoner legends as Acid King, Los Natas and the venerable Sons of OTIS knows a thing or two about heavy rock… But does Blackwolfgoat?

Opening track “Risk and Return” is a long, repetitive riff with a relaxed, mellow vibe. The song goes nowhere fast—or even slow, for that matter. Instead, it drags on for nearly 7 minutes. Sounds like the producer was so bored that he got up to play Duck Hunt near the end—and left the mic on in the booth.

“Death of a Lifer” is more of the same. Droning guitar riff? Check. Electronic beeps and boops? Check. Tempo changes, vocals, percussion? Blackwolfgoat don’t need none of those things! To their credit, fourth track “The Goat” does sound kinda like OTIS—at the end of their live set, when they put down their instruments and let the feedback ring out. (The sound guy usually cuts off the power before they hit nine minutes, though.)

Suffice to say that this album is a long, difficult slog, even though it only has six tracks. I’m glad I didn’t bother burning the digital promo to disc, as it would be a waste of a perfectly good CD-R. Al Gore has nothing to worry about here.

(Small Stone)

RATING: 2 (and that’s only because Small Stone re-released Acid King’s The Early Years earlier this year)