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. They have released three studio albums, the first being 1999's '' Goatsnake Vol. 1''.

History

Goatsnake was formed in 1996 after the disbanding of

The Obsessed The Obsessed is an American doom metal band from Potomac, Maryland, led by Scott "Wino" Weinrich. Formed in 1979, they recorded a few demos and played a handful of live shows until they first split up in 1986 when Weinrich joined as lead vo ...

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

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

) 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-old ...

Burning Witch Burning Witch was an American doom/sludge 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 E ...

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

). 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 ...

( Scream,

Wool Wool is the textile fiber 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 some properties similar to animal w ...

Earthlings? 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 P ...

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, Al ...

). Goatsnake recorded and released two 7-inch 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. In total, the record label released over 200 singles and albums, with most of the artwork designed by Kozik. After the 1995 rele ...

Rise Above Records Rise Above Records is a London-based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian, former member of Cathedral and Napalm Death. Founding Lee Dorrian started Rise Above Records in 1988 without the intention of the label being an ongoing pos ...

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

Unida Unida () is an American stoner rock band formed in 1998. The band's current line-up consists of John Garcia, Arthur Seay, Miguel Cancino and Collyn McCoy. Their debut album, '' Coping with the Urban Coyote'', was released in 1999. A follow-up ...

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 roc ...

, and

Electric Wizard Electric Wizard are an English stoner metal, stoner/doom metal band from Dorset. Formed in 1988 under the name Lord of Putrefaction, the band have recorded nine studio albums, two of which have been considered genre landmarks: ''Come My Fanati ...

. They returned in 2000 for a UK tour with

Orange Goblin Orange Goblin are an English heavy metal band from London. Formed in 1995, the band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong. Their most recent album '' Science, Not ...

and

, another Anderson project. In 2000 Pinhas left Goatsnake to join Acid King 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 specializing 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 experimental ...

. 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, ...

'' 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 initially specialized in experimental metal: particularly doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal. The label later expanded its line-up to ...

that same year. They went on to release their second album, '' Flower of Disease'' 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. In 2004 the band reformed with Anderson and Stahl being joined by bassist Scott Reeder (The Obsessed,

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American stoner rock band formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987, and considered one of the pioneers of the genre. After disbanding in 1995, a number of band members have gone on to form or play in several notable bands in ...

) 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 metalco ...

). 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 The Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name. The festival has been held at Tilburg ...

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 original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

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 and the Southwest Terror Fest in Tucson, Arizona.

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. 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, DOOM Regulator, ...

– drums *JR – drums

Discography

Albums

* '' Goatsnake Vol. 1'' CD (

1999) * '' Flower of Disease'' CD (Man's Ruin Records 2000) * ''Black Age Blues'' CD (

2015)

EPs

* ''IV'' 7-inch (Prosthetic Records 1998) * ''Man of Light'' 7-inch (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)

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 from California