YEAR OF THE GOAT – Angels’ Necropolis (2026 Remaster +1) *HQ*
320_1 /// 320_2 /// HQ 1 /// HQ 2
Sweden’s old-school metal act YEAR OF THE GOAT are reissuing a 2026 remastered version of their debut album “Angels’ Necropolis“, including as bonus track a hard to find B-side.
On first glance by pure name recognition alone, this Swedish sextet Year Of The Goat conjured up images of occult metal. “Angel’s Necropolis” may be evil and dark in terms of philosophy and lyrical perspective, yet stylistically has more in common with ’70s artists like Blue Oyster Cult, Black Widow, and others with that easy going, breezy psychedelic hard rock sound.
It won’t be too much to state that “Angels’ Necropolis” contains 9 little dark secrets able to end this world as we know it opening a door for the fallen Lord to set foot on Earth again. The entire album is about performing the dark arts, while the super atmospheric character making it sound (and look) so innocent.
From the opener “For The King” till closer “Thin Lines Of Broken Hopes” the BLACK SABBATH / BLUE OYSTER CULT blend feels strong and adds a new element to the occult Rock movement.
While this isn’t our favorite sub-genre, we are not afraid to admit that we love each and every song in “Angels’ Necropolis”; YEAR OF THE GOAT have embraced simplicity and at the same time have stepped out of the box introducing a more personal style.
The guitar work is on top of its game and along with the mellotron nostalgic melodies have created colorful (using dark shades) tunes, while the vocals carry their own personality and hence don’t sound alike something you’ve heard before.
Indeed, Thomas Sabbathi has a unique timbre as he combines melancholy and darkness into a solid package and I think he is the perfect storyteller/preacher to YEAR OF THE GOAT’s sermon.
“I’ll Die For You” is the stand out commercial cut, another fine slice of 70s inspired domination with a guitar hook part BOC, part UFO, while the cowbell and cool breeze vocal harmonies straight out of California.
Year Of The Goat with a three guitar lineup and Mikael Popovic on mellotron really fill up the sonic landscape with multiple layers, often going for the contrasts of a subdued keyboard background as the guitars take center stage, some of the best axe hero worship moments occurring on another 10 minute epic “Thin Lines of Broken Hopes”.
We could go on forever talking about this brilliant and dark masterpiece, but our intentions are not to destroy the joy of surprise during the maiden audition by revealing the beautiful way that things change in “Angels’ Necropolis”.
It’s delightfully mesmerising and Year of the Goat are enthralling in the most deviously sinister way. They trick and treat their way through ”Angels’ Necropolis” with such style and devilish grace that it’s difficult to tear yourself away even when you’re left wondering just how far down the rabbit hole you’ve gone, and whether there’ll be something following you for all the rest of your days. Watching. And waiting.
Highly Recommended
01 – For the King (Remastered 2026)
02 – Angels’ Necropolis (Remastered 2026)
03 – Spirits of Fire (Remastered 2026)
04 – A Circle of Serpents (Remastered 2026)
05 – Voice of a Dragon (Remastered 2026)
06 – This Will Be Mine (Remastered 2026)
07 – I’ll Die for You (Remastered 2026)
08 – Thin Lines of Broken Hopes (Remastered 2026)
BONUS TRACK:
09 – Missa Niger [B-side] (Remastered 2026)
Thomas Sabbathi (vocals/guitar)
Per Broddesson (guitar)
Don Palmroos (guitar)
Fredrik Hellerström (drums)
Tobias Resch (bass)
Mikael Popovic (mellotron/keyboards/vocals)
with:
Guitar [Haunting Melodies And Some Guitar Parts] – Jonas Mattsson
Mellotron, Choir – Kristian Karlsson (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 8)
Dark Chanting – Tommie Eriksson (Saturnalia Temple) track 9
BUY
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GRWVTT28
