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Godeater – Making Metal Vegan Again, One Riff At A Time

Glasgow’s Godeater have been on my radar for a handful of years, with their tight as a gnat’s arse live shows and widdly, shreddy tech-death only impressing more

5 years ago

Glasgow’s Godeater have been on my radar for a handful of years, with their tight as a gnat’s arse live shows and widdly, shreddy tech-death only impressing more and more with every viewing. Now, in 2019 – the year of our dark lord Seitan – the eco-conscious “social justice keyboard soya cuck warriors” (check the comment threads on their Metal Injection and Metal Sucks features, I double dare you) have dropped a huge blood-free slab of immense, riff-bombing death metal in All Flesh is Grass. Equal parts crafty and symphonic, their skin-melting extreme metal is paired with a message far more inspirational than methods for dismembering women or odes to the tentacled creation of a 19th-century racist.

I’ve got no beef with tech-death, but a lot of it can just blow right past me like a stale kebab fart on the last train home. The fastest, most technically challenging metal is impressive, sure, but it doesn’t always have… IT… Ya know? Godeater’s flavoursome style saves room for the symphonic elements – strings and arpeggiating keys FFO Nexilva‘s Eschatologies, shout out 2014 – so when you get a huge drop into a blasting groovy number like “Inertia Haze”, the protein of the band’s powerful drive really hits the spot. Never sacrificing the momentum of a track for the sake of writing an extra techy riff, Godeater definitely draw more comparisons to The Faceless and The Black Dahlia Murder than Origin and Archspire. That’s not to say there aren’t a hunner wild string-skipping riffs and licks on the record. It might have been the multiple alcoholic beverages consumed, but I’m pretty sure the band’s hands turned into a nebulous blur playing “Silent Spring” live. Braw stuff.

When anthemic closer “Blood Moon” plinks and clinks to a rousing end, you might start rethinking some dietary and lifestyle choices. If not, cool, at least you’ll have enjoyed some stunning modern death metal. Joining some heavyweight names in taking a vocal stance for the sake of the planet and future generations of sweaty moshers, Godeater wear their ideals proudly, like that one guy at local shows who managed to sew that back patch onto his hoodie, even after pricking his fingers a hundred times. Sure, it’s a bit squint, but he wears it at every. single. fucking. show.

If you like what you’re hearing then don’t miss the opportunity to catch them in the UK live this coming month with fellow Brit tech-death wizards Harbinger. You’ll find full dates at Godeater’s social pages, but now the real important part – the band took a moment out of their days to share with us some favourite vegan meals, alternatives, and grub hubs. Thanks to Will, Josh, Ross, Andy, and Tim for their suggestions. I’m gonna fuckin’ eat ’em all.

Will: “A roll & square sausage (or lorne sausage) is a staple Scottish breakfast item. There’s a joint in Glasgow called Rose & Grants that nails the vegan alternative with fried mushrooms & sriracha mayo.”

Josh: “There’s so much choice in Glasgow when it comes to vegan food – in my opinion, it’s one of the best in the world. You can get great macaroni cheese, pizza, burgers, you name it. However, arguably one of the most iconic stops is Falafel To Go. It’s literally a hole-in-the-wall but it’s almost always got a queue and I’d say almost every vegan in Glasgow is a loyal customer. It’s run by this super nice guy called Hassan who we affectionately refer to as “The Falafel Da”. It also goes without saying that his falafel wraps are absolutely banging. And they’re only £3.”

Ross: “I enjoy going out for food but I really enjoy cooking at home. One of my favourite meals just now is a mashed potato and kale cake, topped with fried tomatoes and tender stem broccoli. I mostly just eat it as a vegetable dish but I sometimes add in a meat substitute as well, either a Vivera “steak” from Tesco or “no chick strips” from Iceland.

That, or a crisp sandwich!”

Andy: “At the moment, I’m really loving the Rogan Bosh! dish from the Bosh! vegan and veggie recipe book! For only being veggie just over a year, Henry Firth and Ian Theasby’s books have provided some amazing recipes and made my first year really invigorating.”

Tim: I’m very new to vegan food, but I enjoy having the chance to go to lots of new places with the band and I’ve been able to try loads of new foods. The standout for me was Frost in Liverpool which does some incredibly nice burgers, not tasting like a ‘substitute’ – they are on par if not better than any other burger out there!

Matt MacLennan

Published 5 years ago