For the second time this month, I seem to have selected a band for review that was born from the ashes of another. Goddess, a stoner doom collective from Stockholm, Sweden, was formerly known as Goatess. Purgatory Under New Management and Blood and Wine were both warmly received by Saunders in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Following the departure of founding guitarist Niklas Jones afterwards, the remaining members decided to rebrand as Goddess. Does the debut Ritual of the Cloven Hoof herald a divine ascension for these horned disciples?
By and large, Goddess doesn’t sound all that different from Goatess. The core songwriting pillars are still the lumbering, looping grooves of Electric Wizard and the swaggering, bluesy stoner riffs of Sleep. Karl-Martin Bruhe, who was also the vocalist on Blood and Wine, has a gravelly, smoky edge to his voice that adds a good amount of pep. He reminds me a bit of Aganoor’s Dan Ghostrider, albeit in a less grungy, more chilled-out environment. These building blocks, which form the backbone of Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, may seem simple on the surface, but they are arranged in different combinations to produce an impressive variety of power levels as the record unfolds.
Goddess is at their best when they play at either extreme of this spectrum of intensity. My favorite moment in “Inquisition” occurs midway through when they take a break from the traditional licks and grooves, switching to hypnotic tom rhythms which combine perfectly with the psyched-out guitars. This style is also used to great effect in the intro of “To Be King,” which gradually ramps up and culminates with some unexpectedly vicious growls and snarls in the final verse. Ritual of the Cloven Hoof would have benefitted from more of this aggression, which is otherwise absent outside of a brief moment towards the end of “Blood Fever.” Drummer Kenta Karlblom is perhaps the most important influence, making the ebb and flow feel natural, with subtle yet satisfying fills and transitions.
As I spent more time with Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, I noticed an inverse relationship between song length and song quality. “Godless” and “Born Again Heathen” are solid enough slabs of doom metal, but they spread too few riffs over too many minutes. The latter feels especially plodding and could have done without the spoken word segment or such a long psychedelic jam in the middle. The upbeat hard rock riffs that open the next (and shortest overall) track “Devil’s Reef,” are like a breath of fresh air afterward. That said, the total runtime is a tight 38 minutes, which is much more digestible compared with the hour-plus runtimes of all three Goatess records.
With Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, Goddess picks up right where Goatess left off without missing a beat. Prior fans will not be disappointed by this new incarnation. Goddess continues to traverse a wide swath within classic doom and stoner rock, at times thick and weighty and others mesmerizing and easygoing. Ritual of the Cloven Hoof resolves prior issues of overall bloat, although some of the longer tracks overstay their welcome. Slower stretches notwithstanding, stoner doom enthusiasts willing to undertake this pilgrimage will uncover ample rewards from this ritual.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Majestic Mountain Records
Websites: goddessbandofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/baldersounds
Releases Worldwide: May 22nd, 2026
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