GOLGOTHA – Spreading The Wings Of Hope

RELEASE YEAR: 2024

BAND URL: http://www.golgothaofficial.com/

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are destructive, greedy wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every healthy tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot produce bad fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce good fruit – Matthew 7:15-18

As I preluded at the end of my recent Swallow The Sun album Shining²⁰²⁴, what we here on Earth erroneously call life is the ultimate narcissist, the ultimate trauma bond. It itself teaches us narcissism as the way of survival in the Hades that some would mistakebly relegate to the lower parts of the Earth. Isn’t our fascination with death and darkness precisely fueled by our realization that “life” and “light” as we know them are lies by definition? If it’s true that light is not overcome by the darkness (John 1:7) and death is swallowed up of life (1 Corinthians 15:54) then it is not true now, in this “life” we’re living in this mortal coil (which is what the Scripture really teaches) and no amount of metaphysical twisting of facts or forced perceptions of reality or theodicy, which our religious leaders have become so skillful at constructing, will change the fact that this living right here right now is getting darker and deadlier by the day (which is what the Scripture really teaches, explicitly in 2 Timothy 3:13). The silver lining for us, the adamant heavy metal fans is that reality may be getting darker and deadlier but it is a fertile ground for dark and deathly music, wherein come bands like the Spanish doom death ensemble Golgotha, who’s 6th album, interestingly called Spreading The Wings Of Hope²⁰²⁴ came out on June 14th via Ardua Music, an album maybe not so immediately catchy and definitely less melodic than its fantastic predecessor Mors Diligentis²⁰²² but a very good work well worth your time and money.

Indeed, while “Mors…” was more doomish and even more heavy metallic and thereby more melodic and catchier despite dealing with the subject of death as a caretaker of a life-tortured soul, comparatively, it seems to have been done so for the purpose of contrast: the heavier subject the lighter the music and, as it becomes clear on “…Hope”, vice versa is also true, the lighter the subject the heavier the music. Not that “Mors…” wasn’t heavy or heavy enough to be called metal. It was heavy, all right, but, back to back with “…Hope” it almost sounds like rock! There is no question about the fact that “…Hope” is a very heavy album, possibly the heaviest album Golgotha has ever recorded. The soul and mind of the ensemble, Bis•onte bassist and guitarist, Sons Of Cult guitarist and Unbounded Terror guitarist and vocalist Vicente Javier Payá Galindo (guitars-1998, 2005, 2014-present; bass-1994) and the only remaining founder, is also a major driving force for the above mentioned acts and, particularly Unbounded Terror (who, by the way, has a new record out in April!) has had a tremendous influence on this record. In fact, we may now call Golgotha equal parts doom and death (“A Solitary Soul” best example). The same is true of the Bis•onte doom influence, especially with respect to songwriting (Human Vultures, Hope As Guide) which is heavily overshadowed by the clean singing of María J. Lladó (For Every Tear, Human Vultures). I’m glad, too, the phenomenal growler fellow Unbounded Terror vocalist Andrew Spinosa (bass-2020; 2023-harsh vocals) spreads his shadow over the darkest aspects of the record having taken over the harsh vocals from the departed Miriam Vallés (2022) now an occasion for more heaviness (the title track) now for more melodiscism, sometimes in the same song (A Solitary Soul), all of which brings to mind bands like Draconian or early Anathema except a lot heavier and meaner. And, while I clearly consider the predecessor a superior work despite one less convincing track, this new album has no weaker tracks (although the Symbol Of Life²⁰⁰³ Paradise Lost goth rock electronics in “Closed Heart” sound a bit safe), just some that could be more varied, especially toward the end of the album.

The evolution of Golgotha, a band no doubt purposely named after the hill Golgotha (Greek: skull) the Son of God, my Lord Jesus Christ, sacrificially died on to potentially save those who would confess Him before the world, is remarkable. Golgotha is a band whose beginnings go back to 1993 when the vocalist and guitarist of Ubounded Terror, Vicente Payá, had formed it along with Ramón “Amon” López Massot (vocals-1998, 2015-2021),Gustavo Garciolo García (guitars -1994) andDavid Garciolo García (drums-1994) and, doubtless inspired by the Peaceville Three (Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema) had recorded “Caves Of Mind”¹⁹⁹³ demo “Caves Of Mind”¹⁹⁹⁴ EP and “Promo 95″¹⁹⁹⁵ demo which finally cought the attention of Repulse Records for the fantastic debut full length “Melancholy”¹⁹⁹⁵ (remastered and re-released in 2019), with the more gothic “Elemental Changes”¹⁹⁹⁸ (remastered and re-released in 2019) after which Golgotha disbanded. Reformed in 2005 for just one year and one album, even more gothic “New Life” on Electric Chair Music (Avulsed vocalist Dave Rotten having taken over the vocals after Amon López), Golgotha, again, disappeared, this time for 9 years, but it took additional 5 years to release the second come back album, “Erasing The Past”²⁰¹⁹ (having brought back López for vocals but also having found a permanent stable in Rotten’s Xtreem Music) followed by the summary EP, Remembering The Past – Writing the Future²⁰²¹, “Mors Diligentis” seemingly completing the transformation with dual vocals, Lladó’s cleans and Vallés’ growls, yet, more apparently, really complete when she left, replaced by Spinosa.

As I said before, the heaviness is immense, with a massive sound, this time courtesy of Javier Fernández (Avulsed, Holycide, TodoMal). Our favorite band may still be Paradise Lost 1993-1995 (also vide: album covers), “Gilded Cage” with echoes of both “Remembrance” and “Hallowed Land”, but this time its more subtle as if to accentuate the overwhelming sense of doom and, ironically, hopelessness, that permeates the songs, at least for the first half of the album, probably on purpose. But it’s the more recent Paradise Lost of say, Tragic Idol²⁰¹², that is front and center here. I love the pacing of the record, with comparatively lighter “For Every Tear” and “Gilded Cage” (about a fake romantic relationship with “no tenderness or passion just a cold display” only as an apparent business contract where the two parties each inwardly secretly and desperately long for the real thing) as transitional tracks from “Mors…” and then suddenly we’re gut-punched with the tonnage of the opening riff of “A Solitary Soul” which becomes a gateway to bonafide death metal a’la first two Paradise Lost albums, yet with surprising melodiscism of early Amorphis and then the deceptively melodic “Hear Their Cries” turning suddenly blackened death metal (downright black metal in places) in the vein of Enslaved or Still Life¹⁹⁹⁹ Opeth and then, again, serving a more doomy melodic number, “Human Vultures”, a vivid, detailed cautionary tale of “wolves in sheep’s attire” Christ Himself warned about in the preliminary to this review in Matthew 7:15-18 (which, to these senses, perfectly fits the current treasonous Russian sleeper spy excuse for a top U.S. official whom practically all three branches of the government obey like a godking whilst putting to death the constitutional separation of powers by an apparent bipartisan agreement cowed into blitzkrieg destruction of the Union from within to the benefit of our historical sworn enemy, as well as a total betrayal of our European alliances in the mindless pursuit of World War III), an easy favorite for all the above reasons, to which the last three songs (“Closed Heart”, “Spreading The Wings Of Hope” and “Hope As Guide” <which can be pronounced “hopeless guide” or is it just my impression?>) seem to be a post scriptum, generally a unified theme of hope amidst loneliness, social anxiety and despair, seemingly ending on a hope-ful rather than a hope-less note.

Despite the material generally less melodic and less catchy than on the predecessor, Golgotha definitely benefits from the addition of the second guitarist (although Payá is like a Spanish Dave Mustaine), fellow Sons Of Cult guitarist Daniel Garcia Noarbe, and together their cooperation brings Greg Macintosh and Aaron Aedy (Paradise Lost) or Andy Craighan and Calvin Robertshaw (My Dying Bride) to mind, especially in “For Every Tear”, “Gilded Cage”, “Hear Their Cries” and “Human Vultures” while Spinoza and newcomer Tomeu Crespi (drums) add additional weight to the sledgehammer that is the sound of this record. Less melody and more heaviness? Sure, but there’s still plenty of the former amidst the latter.

Now, I did say in the “Mors…” review that Golgotha no longer matched the Peaceville Three but surpassed it (and I do smile whenever I see the band quoting that) but that was before My Dying Bride dropped that monster that was A Mortal Binding²⁰²⁴ so let’s just say that Golgotha still matches Aaron Stainthorpe & Co and, should the merciless rumors of the latter disbanding prove true, Golgotha is well poised to fill in the vacuum. Buy this and pick up “Mors Diligentis” along with it.