Rising from the ashes of stoner/doom legends Obsessed during the small genre’s most fertile post-Kyuss period, Goatsnake helped define southern California’s low-and-slow metal scene during the late nineties. With releases on Hydrahead Records, Frank Kozik’s famed Man’s Ruin, and finally settlingly with the mighty Southern Lord Records (co-owned by guitarist Greg Anderson), Goatsnake could be considered one of the quintessential stoner/doom bands of their time.
In 1996, when Obsessed disbanded for good, the group’s rhythm section (bassist Guy Pinhas and drummer Greg Rogers) began looking for a guitarist to jam with. A mutual friend suggested Greg Anderson, who had recently departed from Seattle noise rockers Engine Kid. Anderson moved south to L.A., and the three musicians hit it off. After just a few tunes were completed, vocalist and desert-session regular Pete Stahl (Scream, Wool, Earthlings?) was recruited and the first Goatsnake incarnation was complete. In 1998, two seven inch singles, IV and Man of Light, were released and the band also appeared on several metal compilations. Word spread in the stoner underground that a new heavyweight contender was emerging out of L.A. Despite all the attention, it wasn’t until 1999 that the group’s full-length debut, Goatsnake, Vol. I, appeared on Cathedral vocalist Lee Dorian’s Rise Above record label. A highly anticipated album, Vol. I was successful and Anderson proved himself to be one of the genre’s better six-string sludge-slingers, his bottom-heavy riffs offering a nice balance to Stahl’s dynamic vocal workouts. Goatsnake toured Europe in support of their debut, appearing with the likes of Unida, Fatso Jetson, and Euro doom rockers Electric Wizard. Things went well overseas and in 2000, Anderson and company returned for a tour of the U.K. with Orange Goblin and Sunn0))), an experimental dark ambient project featuring Anderson and Southern Lord/Burning Witch/Khanate partner Stephen O’Malley.Although the group’s demise wasn’t formally announced for almost a year, Dahlquist had left in late 2000 and band activity slowed. After the split was formalized, Anderson continued with Sunn0))) and Teeth of Lions Rule The Divine. Or was it formalized..? Could that really be the end of the ’Snake..? Fast forward to 2004 and there was some rumbling in the bushes again. Greg and Pete Stahl reunited at some point between 2001 and now and began working on new material. Three brand new tracks were bourne from this once again unholy alliance and they simply had to be committed to tape. Recorded in 2002 with a new rhythm section featuring ex-Kyuss and The Obsessed bassist Scott Reeder and current Cave-In drummer JR, these three recordings were released together with two previously vinyl-only rarities in the form of the Trampled Under Hoof EP. 2004 also saw the re-issue of the Vol. 1 album on CD complete with the now out-of-print Dog Days EP on Southern Lord. What happens to the band now is anyone’s guess, but you bet your ass that whatever it is they do, it will become that of legend...

That year, Pinhas left Goatsnake and began working with Acid King. The bassist was replaced by Stuart Dahlquist, also of Burning Witch. Adding to their affiliation with Burning Witch, Goatsnake released a split CD with the band on Hydrahead Records. Also in 2000, Southern Lord put out the now legendary
Dog Days EP. The band’s finest hour was yet to come, as Goatsnake put any questions about their heart to rest by putting out their best (and last to date) full-length recording, Flower of Disease in October 2000. More detailed, heavier, and yet more musical than anything they had done previously, this swan song is a
fitting exclamation point at the end of Goatsnake’s stoner/doom musical statement.

*back