'They walk through the mist, to an ancient place, gathering for the King, to invoke his name, potion from the darkest well, opens for pagan souls, hear the angels of heaven wailing, as they call for the lord of darkness..' So sing Sweden's Year Of The Goat on 'Of Darkness', the opening track on this 4 track (or 'gospels' as the band describe them) mini album. 'Lucem Ferre' is Latin for 'The bringer of light' or 'The son of desert fire' or good old Lucifer himself. So you get the picture. It's a dark picture.

Year Of The Goat take inspiration from the occult rock bands of the late sixties and early seventies such as Coven and Black Widow, as well as the likes of Pentagram and early Black Sabbath. The inspiration, however, is much more from the angle of the subject matter of the lyrics and the picture they paint of pagan rituals, Satanism and the dark arts. Unlike some of their Swedish contemporaries such as Witchcraft and Graveyard, musically Year Of The Goat don't directly recreate the stylings of that era. Although there is clearly an inspiration and flavour of the early seventies, the band's sound has a modern feel to it, bringing the concept of occult rock firmly into the 21^st century.

'Of Darkness' is full of catchy hooks, both vocally and guitar-wise, with an almost indie-pop feel to it in places, and some nice harmonised guitar work. The darker 8 minute epic 'Vermillion Clouds' once again has some catchy guitar riffing going on, and combined with the time signature changes and use of mellotron, has a modern Progressive Rock feel to it. 'Dark Lord' is a cover of the song originally recorded by Sam Gopal, featuring a young pre-Hawkwind Lemmy. The heaviest moment of the album, it pays maximum respect to the original but gives it a modern, heavier sheen. It also reminds us that Lemmy was involved in some quality songs even in those early days.

The track 'Lucem Ferre' itself is a solemn but uplifting instrumental, with the guitar work giving it a flavour of 'Master Of Puppets'-era Metallica in their more progressive, subtle moments.

The new Dark Lords of 21^st century Occult Rock have come to the sabbat in an impressive way. Whether their live shows incorporate the dark theatrics of Black Widow I have no idea, but would certainly like to find out. A full-length album is eagerly awaited.