EPK – Thirteen Goats – Capricorn Rising (Exitus Stratagem Records) (2024)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Band: Thirteen Goats
Album Title: Capricorn Rising
Release Date: July 12th, 2024
Label: Exitus Stratagem Records (ExSR)
“I think fans are going to get everything they loved about our first record, only more of itâand more focused. Weâre exploring the same themes on this album, but weâve connected them by weaving a cohesive story throughout these nine tracks that lends context to the musical and tonal shifts so that they feel more seamless. And just like on the last record, we havenât been afraid to break the rules. Youâll find some curveballs, and I think thatâs going to make this a really unique listen for old and new audiences alike.” – Graham Miles – Thirteen Goats
For fans of Carcass, Lamb of God, System of a Down, Megadeth, Cannibal Corpse
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ThirteenGoats.com | Facebook.com/THIRTEEN.GOATS |Â Twitter.com/THIRTEENGOATSÂ | Youtube.com/@thirteengoats3405 |Â Instagram.com/thirteen.goats
Thirteengoats.bandcamp.com | Spotify | Apple Music
What the press said about 2022 album “Servants of the Outer Dark”:
#14 on Top 20 – Loud – Canadain College Radio – August 2022 (Earshot)
âAn alchemical style reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse, Misery Index, classic Megadeth, melodic Swe-death, and all eras of Death and Carcass.â â Decibel
âRips, weâre here for it.â â MetalSucks
âPerfectly marries old school death metal, blackened tendencies, and heavy metal choruses.â â Metal Injection
âTHIRTEEN GOATS unapologetically raise the deathcore flag for the new decade and absolutely donât care what people think.â â Exclaim!
âThink Vulgar Display of Power-era Pantera in a cage match with Cannibal Corpse and Ministry.â â The Georgia Straight
âA gut-punching and head-hooking offering of death metal that borrows liberally from many of the genreâs subsets, as well as bringing in elements of thrash, black metal, and grindcore.â â No Clean Singing
âWith a name like THIRTEEN GOATS, itâs gonna be evil. Itâs cool, thrashy, blackened groove metal, a little like a Lamb of God sound with a bit more heavy brutality going on and a dash of black metal evilness. Great stuff!â â The Mosh Pit on WORT 89.9 FM (Madison, WI)
âTHIRTEEN GOATS make seriously good music and sound like they have a lot of fun doing it. They write great upbeat thrash songs with strong melodies that appropriately sway from sinister to camp and pull it off tremendously. For some classic charcuterie of extreme metal mixed with a bit of tongue in cheek, youâre well looked after here.â â Heavy Mag
âTHIRTEEN GOATS is a new strength in the extreme scene.â â Metal Temple
âThe starting point of Thirteen Goats and their debut album Servants Of The Outer Dark is death metal, but it doesnât remain tied to it. They explore all types, including tech death and melodic death metal, and even genres outside of that like thrash, groove, and doom metal. Each song brings out a unique side to the band, whether itâs the politically charged âPrisonerâs Anthemâ or the body horror of âSub-Being.ââ â Heavy Music Headquarters
âCanadaâs THIRTEEN GOATS are incredibly fun to listen to and at multiple points subtly humorousâand, as such, make themselves easily a breath of fresh air within the technical scene. That sense of fun is backed up with very proficient playing and dizzying creativity, far beyond what you would expect from a debuting actâs first full length⦠Servants of the Outer Dark is an excellent debut full-length from these guys and I canât wait to hear more!â [9/10] â Metal Observer
âAll you need is love? No. All you need is THIRTEEN GOATS. Their debut album has everything your heart could desire in a Metal record, itâs a metaphorical pizza with all the toppings and a better thrill ride of a first crack we defy you to find!â [8.5/10] â Metal Noise
âThese guys have the ability and the chops to succeed, whilst channeling bands like Lamb Of God into their output.â â Man of Much Metal
âThis is so good.â â Stephen Quinn, The Early Edition (CBC Radio One)
[Download Album Cover | Download Album Lyrics]
Band: Thirteen Goats
Album Title: Capricorn Rising
Release Date: July 12th, 2024
Label: Exitus Stratagem Records (ExSR)
Track Listing:
1. Sign of the Goat (4:53)
2. Murder Lives in the Heart (5:30)
3. A Wolf in Shepherdâs Clothing (4:10)
4. Global Fuckup (3:57)
5. Beheading Zoo (3:44)
6. Permission to Die (3:48)
7. Beating the Disease (4:24)
8. Goats of War (5:25)
9. Animal Kingdom (6:19)
Album Credits:
⢠All songs performed by: Thirteen Goats
⢠All songs written by:
Lyrics and vocal arrangements for all songs written by Graham K. Miles except for Goats of War (lyrics by Graham K. Miles & Leonid Verman)
Music written by:
Sign of the Goat â Rob Fitz-Gerald
Murder Lives in the Heart â Graham K. Miles
A Wolf in Shepherdâs Clothing â Rob Fitz-Gerald
Global Fuckup â Leonid Verman
Beheading Zoo â Graham K. Miles
Permission to Die â Rob Fitz-Gerald
Beating the Disease â Graham K. Miles
Goats of War â Leonid Verman
Animal Kingdom â Leonid Verman
⢠Produced by: Thirteen Goats & Matt Roach
⢠Mixed by: Diego Fernandez-Trujilo
⢠Mastered by: Diego Fernandez-Trujilo
⢠Album Artwork by: Tom Davis (Dark Transmissions)
⢠ Member of SOCAN
⢠Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album Band Line Up:
Graham K. Miles – Lead Vocals, Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Rob Fitz-Gerald – Lead & Rhythm Guitars, Backing Vocals
Cody Lewichew – Â Bass, Gang Vocals
Leonid Verman – Drums, Gang Vocals
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS:
Carly Ellen Jones – Guest Vocals on Track #2 (Murder Lives in the Heart) and Track #9 (Animal Kingdomâ)
Live Band Line Up:
Graham K. Miles – Lead Vocals, Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Rob Fitz-Gerald – Lead & Rhythm Guitars, Backing Vocals
Cody Lewichew – Â Bass, Backing Vocals
Leonid Verman – Drums
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The cover for the record is being designed by Tom Davis. It features Shepherd and the 12 demon goats charging headlong towards a city on the front, and then on the back you see the city in ruins. Tom has an incredibly unique style, so the image has a pretty simple idea behind it but the way heâs doing it is going to be absolutely iconic.
About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
Death metal brutality and frenzied fretwork abruptly give way to huge, unexpected hooks and theatrical choruses. The vocals jump between ragged gutturals and powerful cleans without warning.
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
1. Sign of the Goat
Lyrics:
This song is kind of a prelude to the album as a wholeâa summary of the overall story and themes. Itâs written from the PoV of Shepherd and the 12 demon goats as they conquer the earth, while urging the survivors to give up their humanity and join them or perish.
Music:
This is kind of a blend between big, fat grooves and rapid-fire tech death passages. Think Bolt Thrower with just a hint of Archspire.
2. Murder Lives in the Heart
Lyrics:
This is the start of Shepherdâs journeyâwhere he decides to sell his soul and renounce humanity so that he can become The Antichrist. We also hear him blame humanity for the pain theyâve caused him and vow to show them the error of their ways:
âSo let me open up your eyes / come see this hell you made on earth / itâs far too late to run and hide / itâs time to get what you deserveâ
At the end, you can hear a female voice echoing his sentimentsâis it a lost love, the voice of his conscience, the voice of Mother Earth, or something else?
Music:
We start off in a kind of waltz after a short intro, with some eerie trem picking slightly behind each verseâthen break out into a short passage of clean vocals and guitars before the chorus slams in with the albumâs biggest vocal hook. After that, thereâs a major tonal shift where the time signature changes to 4/4 and the band just goes full tilt all the way to the final chorus, where the female vocals and an ambient guitar are layered in to create a crescendo leading into the next song.
3. A Wolf in Shepherdâs Clothing
Lyrics:
This is the song where Shepherd begins appealing to the other animals of Earth to join his army and rise up against humanity. Itâs a recruitment anthem aimed at anyone whoâs ever felt mistreated or abused, and a call to arms. Itâs also a reminder that the people we overlook are often the most dangerous:
âSacrifice of blood and bone / to satisfy my loathing / not the dog they thought I was / but a wolf in shepherdâs clothingâ
Music:
This is an all-out thrasher with some rhythmic curveballs and Lamb-of-God-like grooves in the verses. It also features a short clean vocal hook in the choruses, followed immediately by contrasting gutturals. Leo tops it all off with some of his most frenetic drumming on the whole album. We hadnât originally planned for this one to be a single, but we changed our minds once we heard the finished version. We actually made it the lead single from the record, because we think it encapsulates a lot of different elements of our sound in a very cohesive way. We also think itâs a bonafide banger.
4. Global Fuckup
Lyrics:
This is the song where Shepherd and his animal army make themselves known to humanity and issue their ultimatumâleave your way of life behind and join us, or die. It also has what I think are some of the funniest lyrics on the record, like:
âLab rats revolt / gnaw out their throats / death at the zoo / children get chewedâ
Music:
This is one of the most musically aggressive tracks on the album. The guitars pummel in 5/4 time throughout most of it, but thereâs also a huge breakaway section in the middle where the lead guitar goes off on this crazy Robert-Fripp-meets-Primus kind of solo. Everyone hated this idea at firstâit felt insane until we had finished recording it, and then I think we all realized it actually gave the song exactly what it had been missing. Everyone weâve shown it to since says itâs a standout moment on the record.
5. Beheading Zoo
Lyrics:
The lyrics in this one are about Shepherdâs army meeting humanity on the battlefield for the first time and the bloodbath that ensues. Itâs extremely straightforward:
âWeâre coming / hellâs legions / itâs time to meet your demonsâ
âPrepare for bloodletting / this zoo is not for pettingâ
Music:
Thrash with hints of melodic death metal here. Think High on Fire meets Children of Bodom (but without the keyboards).
6. Permission to Die
Lyrics:
In this song, Shepherd expresses his disgust with humanity and declares that their complacency has doomed them:
âDie for masters / or save yourselves / should be easy / but servitude still sellsâ
âBut if you cannot live without a boot upon your neck / then you must meet the end beneath a cloven hoof insteadâ
If you go beyond the story of the album, this song is also about the frustration we feel with humanityâs collective inaction in the face of imminent disaster. Itâs about the choice between standing up for ourselves or laying down and dying for our overlords, and how we always seem to do the latter when we should be doing the former.
Music:
This song features the absolute gnarliest and most kinetic riffs Rob has ever written. Itâs actually a real pain in the ass to play, but itâs 100% worth it because it goes hard as hell. A real wrecking ball.
7. Beating the Disease
Lyrics:
Now on the cusp of victory, Shepherd appeals to the forces of hell one last time to turn the earth against the remaining humans and grant him their most powerful black magic:
âI travel down the ley lines / speaking to the spirits / grant me unholy force / and let this world hear itâ
This spell requires him to drink lava from an active volcano, then allow the animals of his army to drink the blood from his veins:
âVolcanoes vomit bile from the guts of hell / Satanic ichor the elixir for my spell / my veins the medium to mix this vile brew / as it has altered me, so must it alter youâ
âTake my communion / let it lift you off your knees / rise up and raise your fists / weâre beating the diseaseâ
He also characterizes humanity as a disease that must be cleansed from the earth, and his army as the cure. In a broader sense, this song is also about the extreme lengths people will go to for power, and how doing so can turn them into complete zealots.
Music:
We kick off with the guitars doing a little call-and-response before locking into a fairly unconventional thrash riff, and then descending into a groove on the verses. Then thereâs a kind of Cryptopsy-inspired pre-chorus riff, followed by a sort of mini-breakdown in the chorus. The middle of the song gets kind of spacy, with the guitars doing another call-and-response sequence under some mild phaserâthen harmonizing for a little while before suddenly exploding into what is probably the fastest and most challenging solo on the album.
8. Goats of War
Lyrics:
Leo started the first draft of these lyrics, then turned them over to me so I could finish them and make them consistent with the rest of the record. This is the part of the story where Shepherd and the Goats wipe out the last few stragglers and knock down all of humanityâs remaining monuments. Itâs about the perverse thrill of dancing on the graves of your enemies.
âWe are the goats of war / braying the hymns of death / pastoral scenes restored / by mankindâs dying breathâ
âOld world once more supplanting the new / how does it feel when the livestock is you?â
Music:
A mid-tempo march with some unsettling time signature changes and probably the most âblack metalâ feel of anything on the record. It feels a little in line with the kind of thing VLTIMAS might doâthereâs even a hint of a David Vincent-style vocal delivery near the end.
9. Animal Kingdom
Lyrics:
The final moments of the record find Shepherd singing to the surviving animals of Earth, including the humans who have joined him, and congratulating himself for their victory. But over the chorus of the song, he becomes haunted by the realization that he has become the thing he once despisedâa dictator and a tyrant who has made the planet an uninhabitable husk.
He also confronts his fear that perhaps the one part of being human we can never completely renounce is our tendency to seek power and destroy in the name of ideology:
âAnd as I stare into my soul / I see what I can never purge / this thirst for power and control / the same disgusting human urgeâ
As heâs coming to this realization, we hear the female voice from the start of the record return and utter the same lines as beforeâbut now they seem to be mocking him:
âSo let me open up your eyes / come see this hell you made on earth / itâs far too late to run and hideâ itâs time to get what you deserveâ
Now on the brink of insanity, Shepherd and the 12 goats decide to abandon the planet and travel through the cosmos looking for another world to conquer. The cycle repeats itselfâand evil never truly dies.
Music:
We close the record with both the longest song and the biggest musical risk on the whole album. It starts off almost like a ballad, before a chorus of eerie clean vocals join in for the verses over a wall of cascading guitar melodies. Then the chorus breaks in with harsh screaming over a wall of distortionâbefore the clean picking returns underneath an ambient and otherworldly solo. After a buildup, the song falls into an ominous groove that carries it forward until the climaxâwhere dissonant open chords ring behind tortured howls and an angular riff that terminates in a single bass note like an atomic bomb going off. A fitting conclusion to the recordâand a sign of how the bandâs sound will likely continue to evolve on future releases.
=========================================================
STORY ANGLES – FUN FACTS:
1. The new record is a concept album and a âdeath metal rock operaâ. Itâs about a disillusioned everyman who sells his soul for demonic powers so he can raise an army of animals to take back the earth from humanity.
2. I finished writing the lyrics for the album while I was traveling in New Zealand. I was hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which was the location for Mordor and Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies, and I was literally standing on the edge of an active volcanoâlooking right down into the crater. The clay had been dyed blood red from previous volcanic activity, and it just hit me all at once how beautiful and powerful nature was. We act like weâre the masters of this planet, but weâre not. Thatâs where the line âVolcanoes vomit bile from the guts of hell/Satanic ichor the elixir for my spellâ comes from in Beating the Diseaseâitâs about Shepherd channeling the awesome power of nature to cleanse the earth.
3. Rob had to go to the ER while we were recording the album, for what turned out to be a stomach ulcer, I think. The weird thing about that is that weâve had a member of the band end up in the hospital on every record weâve made so far (I had a motorcycle accident while we were recording album #1). Granted, thatâs only two for two at this pointâso weâre not saying itâs a curse or anything. But it is kind of strange that it happened twice.
4. All members of Thirteen Goats have roots in the former Soviet Union. Leonid is from Russia, Codyâs got Russian heritage, Robâs family is Armenian, and Iâm Ukrainian. We didnât write explicitly about that on this record, but it definitely informs the themes weâre exploring on the albumâhumanityâs capacity for violence, how power corrupts, how noble ideas can become twisted and evil, etc. A lot of those things show up in the history of that part of the world, and theyâve definitely had a ripple effect thatâs touched all of our lives to varying degrees.
5. Kelly Schaefer from Atheist watched our whole set when we opened for them, and invited us to hang out with him afterwards on their tour bus. We had a great conversation about how metal music has just as much power as any other genre to tell meaningful stories and elicit genuine emotions, and he gave us some advice that really helped with the way we approached songwriting on this record. We owe him a debt of gratitude, and really hope our paths cross again on the road somedayâthank you, Kelly!
L-R: Thirteen Goats Current Lineup | Rob Fitz-Gerald (Lead & Rhythm Guitars, Backing Vocals) | Graham K. Miles (Lead Vocals, Lead & Rhythm Guitars) | Cody Lewichew (Bass, Gang Vocals) | Leonid Verman (Drums, Gang Vocals) – Photo Credit: Kevyn Lilith Hoskin
Is it thrash? Death? Groove? THIRTEEN GOATS donât care, and neither should you. This Vancouver four-piece tramples all over subgenre conventions to create an alchemical style of infernal riffs, huge hooks, and uniquely theatrical songwriting. The bandâs new album, Capricorn Rising, is a death metal rock opera that tells the story of their mascot, Shepherd: a goat-skull wearing Antichrist accompanied by 12 demon goats who help him raise an army of animals to liberate the earth from humanityâs wars and greed. Itâs a tongue-in-cheek tale of the anger we all feel at the world we live in, and the dangers of letting it turn you into a monsterâdelivered as a fitting soundtrack for the apocalypse.
Discography:
2024 – Capricorn Rising (LP)
2022 – Â Servants of the Outer Dark (LP)
2021 – Servant of the Outer Dark (Single)
Shared Stage with:
Cynic, Atheist, Expain, MVLGRAVE, Liminal Shroud, SVNEATER, Paramnesia
Blackwater Burial, Tribunal, Hyperia, Iron Kingdom, Detherous, Hem, Netjer, Shattered Throne, Futile Mutations, Nameless King, Thousand Arrows
Kayas, Anarcheon, Demon Cleaver, Death Preacher, Augur, Hunting Giants, Our Last Crusade, Blood of the Phoenix, Repugnant Scum, Repulse Reprise, Pridelands, Reduced to Rubble, Exit Wound, Medevil, Deathbound, No. 1 Special, Horse Funeral, Donna G
