Band:	Year Of The Goat
Album:	Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis
Style:	Hard rock
Release date:	September 06, 2019
A review by:	RaduP

01. Subortus
02. Acedia
03. Luxuria
04. Ira
05. Superbia
06. Gula
07. Avaritia
08. Invidia
09. Subicio

Ah, yes, hard rock and the sound of yesteryear. Occult and psychedelic and soulful.

But is there a catch? Something to say that Year Of The Goat take an olden sound and do their twist to make it a vital sound of 2019? Short answer: no. Long answer: also no, but they do it well enough that it doesn't feel overly derivative. You see, this is Year Of The Goat's third album, so they did have enough time to come up with a certain sound of their own, as much as it is obviously taken from years and years of bands doing similar sounds. We don't really bother that much when OSDM bands rehash the same sounds of 1989, but there's a 20 year difference between 1989 and 1969.

What makes Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis worthwhile is how great the songwriting on this record is, for a record that is lighter than the band name, album title and album cover would lead you to believe. Sure, there's some heaviness and doom metal touches here and there, but far too far in between for my liking. Instead, the album sits more comfortably in Blue Öyster Cult-like swagger, slight Lucifer's Friend-like progressive touches, massive blues touches and just a nice drop of psychedelia, but not too much to make this psychedelic or stoner or desert rock or anything. This hard rock through and through, with catchy choruses and memorable guitar lines and all.

Vocalist Thomas Eriksson's wails might not be the most technically proficient or impressive vocalist, but then again neither was Ozzy back in the day (or ever, for that matter) and yet both of them are exactly what this type of music asks for: a voice to follow along the (in this case nostalgia) trip. The guitar play and the drumming on this album is fantastic and these two always drive the songs forward with both memorable lines and a slight technical touch, and the bass has its moments to shine in between as well ("Invidia" comes to mind), making the songs feel nuanced and showing off just enough to feel more mature and confident rather than cocky in their proficiency.

More Blue Öyster Cult and Sir Lord Baltimore than Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, so despite not really doing anything in terms of pushing the sound forward, Year Of The Goat do just enough to have a mature and insightful take on the genre.