Goat Worship: Stunning Photos of Heavy Metal's Most Iconic Beast | Page 2 | Revolver

Goat Worship: Stunning Photos of Heavy Metal's Most Iconic Beast

Photographer R. J. Kern has traveled the world to document the "hoofed animals … both banal and mythical"
goats_1_Casanova II_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
Casanova II, pictured on his home farm, Háafell, Iceland, 2014
photograph by R. J. Kern
text Revolver Staff
photography R. J. Kern, courtesy of Klompching Gallery, New York and Burnet Fine Art and Advisory, Minnesota
May 31, 2019

From Venom's Welcome to Hell to Slayer's Show No Mercy to Slipknot's Iowa — the goat has appeared in some of heavy music's most iconic imagery, thanks to its long history as a vessel of the devil, representation as occult deity Baphomet and general badass reputation as a strong-willed beast that will eat almost anything and can cling to near-vertical mountainsides with its cloven hoofs. No other animal better represents the tenacious, IDGAF attitude of heavy metal, and perhaps no other photographer has spent more time capturing their image than R. J. Kern. Since 2012, the Minnesota-based photographer has been traveling to Ireland, Germany, Norway and Iceland to investigate his family's pastoral roots and document the "hoofed animals … both banal and mythical" that have supported his ancestors for generations. Here, we present some of his most striking photographs.

goats_2_Mr. Hofsós_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
Mr. Hofsós, Skagafjarðarsýsla, Iceland, 2014
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats_3_Old Goat_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
Old Goat, Geirangerfjorden, Norway, 2013
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats_4_Norwegian Pastoral Study I_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
Norwegian Pastoral Study I, Geirangerfjorden, Norway, 2013
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats_5_Emerald_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
Emerald, Minnesota, United States, 2016
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats_6_German Pastoral Study I_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
German Pastoral Study I, Kehl, Germany, 2015
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats_7_German Pastoral Study IV_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
German Pastoral Study IV, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 2015
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats_8_Hazel_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
Hazel, Geirangerfjorden, Norway, 2013
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats_9_Gandolf_Credit_R.J.Kern.jpg, R. J. Kern
Gandolf, Lake Mývatn, Iceland, 2014
photograph by R. J. Kern
goats

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