Review: Weedeater’s “Goliathan”

Weedeater has been a staple of the sludge metal scene for over a decade now. Sludge metal is often described as Sabbath meets Black Flag circa “My War,” only heavier and meaner. Throw in a few too many edibles and some North Carolina attitude, and you’ll wind up with something like Weedeater’s newest album.

Behold: “Goliathan.”

Coming off the heels of their previous album ”Jason The Dragon,” which featured stoned meandering and experimentation, it wasn’t immediately clear how Weedeater would proceed from there.

In a nutshell, “Goliathan” is a little of this, and a little of that. There are moments where the music feels staler than month-old sourdough, and there are equally as many moments of pure Southern aggression.

Similar to their previous release, the first half of the album feels a little off. There’s a pattern that the band seems to be developing, and it goes something like this: opener, relatively forgettable tracks, strange interlude, pure sonic bliss. “Goliathan” dishes this formula out in aces.

Of course, in true Weedeater fashion, even these moments are delivered with a healthy dose of humor. “Processional” kicks off the album with a bizarre mix of what sounds to be an electric organ and slide guitar, with Dixie Collins making his album debut by saying, ”I really hate your face.” From there on out, you know what you’re getting yourself into.
“’Goliathan” is a plodding track conjuring specters of doom and destruction and ancient things that may never die, waiting to unleash their terror across the surface of the earth.

Unfortunately, there are also rather bland tracks like “Bow Down“ or ”Cain Enabler.” To put it bluntly, they didn’t really grip me. More than filler, but less than great. Maybe that’s why the band decided to throw these songs towards the beginning of the album.

But then again, maybe a little sacrifice is necessary to stumble into those flaming gates. After a hilarious banjo cut mid-album in  “Battered & Fried,” the band punches in for the rest of the album, and you better keep up.

”Claw of the Sloth” and ”Joseph (All Talk)” are some of the best tracks Weedeater has put out. Their signature Southern grooves bury any misgivings I had about the album. The second half of “Goliathan” is pure, sludgy beatdowns. Blending more nimble riffs from their last album with crushing, relentless brutality and pacing from their older material, these songs are some grade-A cuts.

”Bully” is a punky, two-minute track blazing a path to the final offerings on the album. ”Benediction” is a smoke-filled, psychedelic-drenched jam song, perfectly capping off the album. Strangely, this is one of the tracks I enjoyed the most off of the album. It would be great to hear more of this from Weedeater.

All-in-all, “Goliathan” is a bit underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong; I dig it, and it’s sure to become a staple of my sludge-loving mp3 player, but it feels like “Jason: Round Two at times.” The difference being, where “Jason” always pulls me back to it, I don’t get that same urge to redose with this album. Maybe that will change with time.

That aside, if you like Weedeater, you’ll enjoy this record. There are some fantastic songs to be found on “Goliathan.” This album finds Weedeater comfortable doing what they do and serving up their fans another brutal slab of their signature Southern sludge. Give this album a spin!