Thirteen Goats' latest release, Capricorn Rising, showcases their evolution with a cohesive narrative and technical prowess. We dive into the album's themes and inspirations.
1. Congratulations
on the release of Capricorn Rising! Can you tell us what makes this
album a significant step forward from your first record?
On Servants
of the Outer Dark, we were still establishing our signature sound and our
image as a band. We loved the music we were making and wanted to share it with
the world, but we took a more maximalist approach—throwing a bunch of ideas at
the wall and seeing what stuck. So while I'm very proud of that record, I also
think it lacks some of the conceptual unity and creative vision that Capricorn
Rising has.
We're also
much more confident players now, with more experience in music production
techniques—so we had the skill to bring more technical compositions to life on
this record and present them with more polish. I think all you need to do is
listen to both albums back-to-back and our evolution as a band will be
obvious.
2. The
album is described as a conceptual saga following a character named Shepherd.
What inspired this narrative, and how does it reflect the current state of the
world?
Shepherd is
supposed to represent a regular person like you or me, who breaks under the
pressure of living in the world humans have created—a world where greed and
cruelty often win out against decency and innocence. He basically decides that
he's sick of being human, so he sells his soul for the power to communicate
with animals and raises them into an army to save the planet from his own
species.
The catch is that this basically turns Shepherd into the Antichrist—and as his
army sets out to liberate the planet, they actually destroy it. At the end
of the story, he's created the nightmare he was originally trying to escape and
he's become the evil he once despised. We're trying to show that human nature
can be terrible, but the answer isn't to renounce your humanity. Because when
you do, you also renounce all the better parts of human nature, like our
capacity for critical thinking and justice and love.
3. You
mentioned that the album features unexpected musical curveballs. Can you give
us some examples of these surprises and how they fit into the overall theme of
the album?
We call
ourselves a death metal band, but we're influenced by all kinds of other
subgenres. You'll find plenty of groove on this record, as well as a fistful of
thrash riffs. Many of the songs also have fairly progressive structures, and
we've found a couple of moments to slow things down and make room for more
melodic passages—especially when it underscores key events in the narrative.
One really good example of that is a vocal hook sung by guest artist Carly Ellen Jones that more-or-less bookends the record. It consists of the lines "So let me open up your eyes / Come see this hell you made on Earth / It's far too late to run and hide / It's time to get what you deserve". The first time you hear her sing it (in "Murder Lives in the Heart"), it's echoing Shepherd's need for vengeance. But the second time it comes around (at the end of album closer "Animal Kingdom"), it's skewering his guilty conscience for the atrocities he's committed. Presenting that refrain in a different context shows how the change Shepherd set out to bring has just resulted in more of the same.
4. The themes of environmental devastation and societal collapse are prevalent throughout Capricorn Rising. What message do you hope listeners take away from these themes?
I hope this
album makes people think about the urgent need for our species to change our
way of life—but also reminds them that violence and chaos is not the way
forward.
5. With
tracks like “Sign of the Goat” and “A Wolf in Shepherd’s Clothing,” how do you
approach songwriting to ensure that the music complements the story being told?
We actually
wrote the music for the album first. I created the concept and wrote the lyrics
afterward, using the dynamics that already existed in the compositions to guide
the storytelling. But music is also a form of storytelling, so it wasn't like I
created an arbitrary story and pasted it on top afterwards. It was more like I
let the music tell me what the story of the album should be and then put it
into words.
6. You’ve
received praise from prominent figures in the metal scene, such as Kelly
Shaefer of Atheist. How does it feel to be recognized by such influential
artists?
It honestly
feels incredible. We had the good fortune to open a show for Atheist and Cynic
during their Focus and Presence Tour, and Kelly was kind enough to spend some
time chatting with us backstage about his approach to music and his artistic
principles. We were still writing Capricorn Rising at the
time, so that conversation really influenced our approach to finishing the
record. The fact that he stayed interested enough in what we were
doing to listen to the album when it came out and publicly endorse it means the
world to us.
7. Your
blend of progressive death, thrash, and groove metal sets you apart. How do you
manage to combine these diverse influences while maintaining a cohesive sound?
I think a
lot of it is just instinct, honestly. We listen to a lot of music, we're honest
with ourselves and each other about what we like and why, and when we come up
with an idea that excites us in the same way, we find a place for it in the
music we're making. The key is that we never dismiss anything before we try it,
and we never let genre conventions dictate what we do.
I think a
lot of bands limit themselves by deciding they're one thing or another, but
that prevents them from exploring ideas that could help them establish a
more unique and interesting sound. We don't care about how
people label us—we just care about making music we love.
8. Having
shared the stage with heavyweights like Cynic and Atheist, what has been one of
your most memorable experiences while performing live?
I think our
most exciting show so far was actually in Vancouver, at the end of our Planet
of the Goats 2024 Tour with Fall of Earth and Nameless King. We had one fan who
came to the gig in a wheelchair, but halfway through the show she was
crowd-surfing. People just picked up her chair and were passing it over their
heads in the pit, and she was grinning from ear to ear. That's about the most
literal definition of "heavy metal" I've ever seen.
9. What
can fans expect from your upcoming shows, especially in terms of how you’ll
present the songs from Capricorn Rising live?
We have some exciting ideas on how to translate the narrative of the record to a live performance experience. I'm talking to a friend of mine who spent years producing theatre in New York, and she's suggested that there could be potential to turn this into a... well, I don't think anyone's ever done a "death metal musical" before—but maybe it's time? No promises right now, but we'll see what happens.
10. Looking
ahead, what are your goals for Thirteen Goats in the next few years, especially
with the momentum from this new release?
Album
number three is already in the works, and we have some festival appearances
planned for 2025 where we hope to debut at least one or two new songs. There's
a good chance you'll see at least one more music video from Capricorn
Rising as well, so stay tuned!
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