The Goat of Mendes

The Goat of Mendes is the second studio album by English blackened death metal band Akercocke, released in 2001 on Peaceville Records. It is available in standard CD format and digi-pack format.

Akercocke drummer and lyricist David Gray remarks that this is "...in my opinion, our best album..." (David Gray, 2009 Akercocke.com)

"Goat of Mendes, as its title suggests, is shrouded in an almost palpable sense of the unholy: witness the frequent references to assorted arcane deities (not only Lucifer, but also Baphomet, Sheol and countless diabolically named others), the ritual carnality of 'A Skin for Dancing in'and 'Breaking Silence' (sample lyric:'Manipulate crucifix/To masturbate and penetrate'), or the gleefully overt blasphemies of 'Masks of God'and 'He is Risen' (Dark Prince Lucifer is risen/Proclaiming the age of Satan')." (Dave Everley KERRANG! Issue 853 May 2001)

"Probably the Black metal band most likely to achieve international recognition in the near future..." (Joel McIver, EXTREME METAL 2 - Omnibus press 2005)

"The first two tracks alone justify the asking price. 'Of Menstrual Blood and Semen' and 'A Skin for Dancing in' are both minor works of genius...Finest of all is the closing epic, 'Ceremony of Nine Angles'; a fiendish maze of discordance, precision Blasting,and awesome heaviness." (Dom Lawson, KERRANG! Issue 854 May 2001)

" 'Unnerving' that's the word...the best way to describe the strange effect the cold atmosphere of 'Goat of Mendes' has on you...The Blast, probably Akercocke's most important tool, is to them a primal release of energy, and you can almost tell that from their music alone...Visceral aggression and twisted, malevolent sounds are certainly one of Akercocke's raison d'etres...Quite honestly, this is really one of those albums you not only have to hear but struggle to assimilate into your consciousness..." (Paul Schwarz, TERRORIZER issue 90 June 2001)

"...No this is the brutal stuff the way it was meant to be: written with heart, venom and, importantly, soul" (Mike Exley, ROCK SOUND issue 26 July 2001)

Track listing

The album came with a bonus music video for "Infernal Rites" . A video for 'Horns of Baphomet' was also released in the summer of 2001.

External links