Talkin ‘Bout Flex: Goatwhore

Since Issue #75, Decibel has brought you left-of-center b-sides, rarities, live recordings and new songs from top-tier metal bands via the outstanding Flexi Series.  Want to hear the stories behind these recordings?  Read on.

photo by Peter Beste

Six years ago, Goatwhore provided Decibel‘s twelfth flexi disc with a U.S.-President-colored rendition of Motörhead’s “Don’t Need Religion.”  The song hit our ears right around the time the band was bleeding out their fifth album, Blood for the Master.  In this month’s issue (#159, January 2018, Morbid Angel cover), Goatwhore return with a brand new track in the wake of their new face-wrecker Vengeful Ascension.  “Command to Destroy” is nothing less than its title suggests – a savage throat-tearing thrash attack.  We asked vocalist Ben Falgoust to share his thoughts on their most recent Flexi contribution.  Read up.  Listen.  Join the kvlt of the goat.

When were you approached to contribute to the Flexi Series?

This is actually our second time doing a Decibel Flexi. For the first one we did the Motörhead cover song “(Don’t Need) Religion.” This time we provided and exclusive unreleased track for the offering. I think the process this time around was a mutual agreement. We wanted to be involved again and Decibel was interested. Not that the first one wasn’t mutual, Decibel reached out about us doing a Flexi in the beginning.

How did you choose to contribute “Command to Destroy” to the Decibel Flexi Series?

We actually picked one of the songs during the recording process. We put it aside for a unique opportunity. This came to mind after we were out of the studio.

When and where did you record the song?  How much time and work did it take?  Did it differ at all from your regular recording schedule?

It was recorded in October 2016 during our sessions for the Vengeful Ascension album that came out on June 23rd, 2017. We recorded at Earth Analog in Tolono, IL with Jarrett Pritchard at the producing/engineering helm. The song was then mixed by Chris Common in El Paso, TX and then sent back to Jarrett Pritchard to master for the Flexi.

What are your thoughts about the color choice for the Flexi?

It’s black! You can’t wrong with black, man! I would actually like to see some unique colors for future flexi releases though. Not sure if it is possible, but if they could do a splatter or swirl that would be pretty interesting. Get on that!

Have you listened to other songs in the Flexi Series?  What is your favorite Flexi so far?

I have heard the Flexi releases from Vallenfyre, Nails, Tribulation, Skeletonwitch, etc. I am pretty sure I have listened to all of them at this point. I usually check the song out via the SoundCloud link when it gets posted. I own a few of them as well. I really like the variations of original songs and cover songs throughout the series.

Check out all the Flexi songs here.