Thursday, December 7: Goatess, "Murphy Was an Optimist"
Although Christian Linderson was in St. Vitus for a brief spell in the early ‘90s, his output with Goatess was far less indebted to doom conventions, at least lyrically: the music was very much classic mournful doom metal in the St. Vitus mold, and Linderson had that distinctly mid ‘70s Ozzy vocal tone, but “Murphy Was an Optimist” indicated something different was afoot with its title. And the tune had a different aesthetic even though it fit the mold, being a lumbering beast with more than a little insouciance lurking beneath the surface. This was sort of song that seemingly could have only come out of Sweden, as few American acts would be willing to have this particular type of fun playing with the form.
