Goliath

Goliath is the brainchild of Indiana-born musician Mick Rowe, a metal veteran with strong Christian beliefs and a love for all things heavy. After releasing two discs in the ’80s as part of Tempest, Rowe withdrew from the recording and performing scene to rethink his music and his message. After more than a little woodshedding and some soul-searching, Rowe began recording tracks and releasing them on the Internet under the Midnight Orchestra moniker. Through www.MP3.com, Midnight Orchestra developed a strong following, topping the site’s Stoner/Doom chart regularly. When Rowe felt the time was right to take his music beyond the cyber realm, he signed up with E-Magine Entertainment and plans for a full-length record where in the making. While recording tracks for his E-Magine debut, business problems began to hamper the company’s ability to follow through with a release, and Rowe ended up in a bit of a holding pattern. While his label disintegrated, Rowe continued to write and record on his own. This is when the idea of Goliath began to emerge. As a fan of horror movies and all things big and monstrous, Rowe felt an important theme developing in his music. This gave him the inspiration and confidence to once again try to build a business partnership that would allow him to get his music to the masses. Eventually, the musician contacted The Music Cartel (one of modern heavy music’s most prolific labels) and the company took an immediate shine to his art. With all of the business concerns finally in place, Rowe recorded The Gate for The Music Cartel with fellow Christian musicians Wil D. Kay and Michael X. The resulting debut was worth the wait. A mix of mid-career Black Sabbath (with riffs reminiscent of Heaven and Hell) and Danzig, Goliath cast a melodic light on their good vs. evil stoner rock that captures a biblical vibe many ’90s Sabbath followers avoided in favor of the trendier drug and desert themes. Spacious, pious, and heavy, Goliath is the sum of many spiritual parts wrapped in crisp production and well-executed riffing. ~ Vincent Jeffries