GOLGOTHA was a familiar name in 90s, coming from Palma (Balearic Islands) and releasing a couple Death / Doom albums on Repulse Records. It was a unique band among brutal Death Metal that Repulse was churning out, so it stuck in my mind. Anyway, fast forward to 2021, the name is back online, carried by only remaining member Vicente J. Paya (guitars) who has assembled a new line-up and continues to create music in the same style. So here you got one new song ‘Don’t Waste Your Life’ and re-recordings of 4 older tracks. It’s all solid and honestly sounding, not overproduced, but still very clear and powerful Death / Doom Metal exactly among the lines of classic PARADISE LOST, MOONSPELL and CREMATORY (Ger). They masterfully weave their riffs and melodies, the vocals variate between low and melodic, it punches all the right buttons, so you know the drill – if you are a fan of it, go ahead and get this EP, it’s that simple. Other than that, don’t waste your time, there are plently of bands expanding on the style and doing much more interesting things with it. This is as cliched as it gets, but done really well. More band information at: www.facebook.com/golgotha-298202493615887, Label contact: www.xtreemmusic.com

Spain’s GOLGOTHA have been around for a long long time. Though, since their first demo in 1993, the band’s only released four full-lengths. Now, in 2021, there’s a new EP entitled “Remembering The Past – Writing The Future”, which actually clocks in at just under an hour. Before the confusion sets in, the EP includes three hidden tracks of orchestral versions of their songs just to make longtime fans happy. Their epic Death / Doom style throws the first track ‘Don’t Waste Your Life’ at us with slightly odd clean vocals that thankfully burst into raspy growls that can still be understood. ‘Helpless’ is a staggeringly slow tune where the clean vocals gently flow like a mist through the acoustic guitars until picking up energy to give the track a beautiful yet mystifying aura coalescing around it. ‘I Am Lost’ is a Gothic Doom track with whispery vocals and melodic guitars. GOLGOTHA are a band, in their decades of writing music, that can entrance and hypnotize while bludgeoning us with its power at the same time. Pianos open ‘Elemental Changes’ but are replaced by swaying electric guitars that weep and wither as the vocals soothe and blemish the air surrounding us. The regular EP ends with ‘Lonely’, containing more piano, more deep clean vocals, steady drumming and a guitar that envelopes the sadness as if covering it in protection. The three orchestral tracks afterwards are a very nice touch… very epic and mesmerizing. Simply put, “Remembering The Past – Writing The Future” is a damn fine 50-minute EP (I just like typing that). Do I give a shit that the band is a little slow in delivering steady new material? Not at all. These 8 tracks are well worth the wait. For more information, check out www.facebook.com/golgothaofficialband, www.xtreemmusic.com