Satanic doom champions Goya are giving listeners another reason to revisit their majestically evil and sonically depraved Satan’s Fire EP (review HERE). Released in 2014, both digitally and on limited CD through Owens’ own Opoponax Records imprint, Satan’s Fire found Goya seamlessly blending evil, freak-out psychedelia in the vein of Glitterhouse Records-era Monster Magnet (particularly opening track “Malediction and Death”) with the filthiest, sleaziest riffs to emerge from the bloated underbelly of the doom underground. While the Satan’s Fire 7” is not a literal translation pressed on wax, sadly, as it only features the title track, BUT there is more than enough reason to hunt down the new 7” other than having the ability to bury a needle into “Satan’s Fire” or for simply being a completist. The Satan’s Fire 7” may have shed the awesome “Malediction and Death” and the haunting percussive instrumental “Symbols,” but it does come backed with an incredible cover of Iron Maiden’s “Wrathchild.”
Barely recognizable upon a casual listen, Goya’s subsonic, bass-heavy rendition—like a heaving mass of rising dough—palpably bloats its way through stereo speakers and menacingly threatens to suffocate the listener for its six minute duration. Goya defiantly matches Iron Maiden’s galloping energy with a gargantuan, sloth-like lethargy. Where Paul Di’Anno imbued “Wrathchild” with a streetwise, yet likeable upbeat sneer, Jeff Owens counters with a suitably gruff, road-weary bellow. Both versions have exceptionally killer, somewhat spacey guitar solos, but Owens’ are appropriately twisted and acid-drenched.
No matter what tune Goya had decided to tackle from Iron Maiden’s vast discography the results would have been remarkable, but it is particularly cool that the band chose an upbeat number from the Di’Anno era to deconstruct and rebuild into an abominable golem of doom-and-gloom. Fans of Maiden or not, Goya’s rendition of “Wrathchild” is worth the price of admission alone.
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