Archive for Orange Goblin

Orange Goblin – Rough & Ready, Live & Loud… 25 Years of British Rock and Heavy Metal

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on 10th May 2020 by Mickelrath

Orange Goblin
Rough & Ready, Live & Loud
Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Stoner Rock
Released: 1st May 2020
via Orange Goblin Music / Rise Above Records

It’s hard to put into words how much I love the band Orange Goblin and how much their music reached me. Let me take you back to 2012 and the release of their album A Eulogy For The Damned. This was an album that immediately captured my consciousness and reached me on a level that I don’t think many metal bands have done. It wasn’t an overly complex record from a musical standpoint.  It adhered to a standard, verse/chorus/verse/chorus structure with riffs to carry the general tune of the song and they used some brilliant guitar work to give their music some extra life. After listening to that album I was immediately fascinated with them, their riffs always caught me, hook line and sinker and I hunted down their previous albums to see if they gave the same feeling. Very luckily, they did. In particular Thieving from the House of God, which still to this day is one of my all-time favourite metal albums.

Once I had discovered their music I made it a mission to see them live in concert. I got my chance time and time again as Orange Goblin are touring machines, I’ve managed to watch them live at least 12 times now. Now, how do I describe their live shows? They’re one of the most charismatic and fun bands to watch live. They just have this imposing presence to their shows, it’s something you can really feel as an audience member, no matter how many times I see them perform I still get chills when they get certain parts of their sets. There are some staple tunes that the band will just play and the crowd goes nuts, like “Saruman’s Wish” and “Some You Win, Some You Lose”, when they hit those songs you can feel the crowd twist and shift and come to life. It’s such an awesome feeling. They do such a good job of making a set-list that will keep their fans happy. I mean all bands have to release new material and I think deciding what old songs to keep and what new songs to add is an art form unto itself. They always seem to get that balance of rocking the old school tunes and promoting the new material. So, it’s great to hear a set-list unfold itself over the course of a night.

Now they have been rocking for 25 solid years, Orange Goblin wanted to do something for the fans to celebrate this milestone in their career. However, with the UK being in lock-down due to the world health crisis at the time of writing this review, it wasn’t like they could just hit the road at their leisure. So, the next best thing was to give their fans a live album. Rough & Ready, Live & Loud is a collection of live recordings from their gigs. The songs were taken from their sets at Sylak Open Air Festival 2016, KOKO in London 2016 and at the Fuzz Club in Athens in 2019. It’s a well-rounded album with lots of great songs to rock out to. It also gives some love to some of their, let’s say underrated, classics like “Time Traveling Blues” and “Made of Rats”. So in that sense, it’s not a greatest hits album per se, more of a collection to give the listener the feeling of hearing the band live and enjoying the show. Which is cool and a good way to put their stamp on 25 years as a band. Also, included with the album on Bandcamp is a digital booklet filled with fan-submitted memories of the band. Which made this feel like an all-inclusive experience with their fans. In addition to this the Bandcamp edition of the album features the extra track of “Your World Will Hate This” from the album Coup de Grace. Which is a pretty damn good cap on the album. I mean it’s a short tune but it has that fierce energy and packs that little extra punch.

Although I can’t pretend that I have been a fan since the start (you know since I was only three years old when they started, so the only music I liked was the intro to Thomas the Tank Engine). I feel like they were definitely a cornerstone in developing my taste in heavy metal and hard rock. Still to this day I gravitate to music with heavy riffs and fuzzy solos more than any other styling. Their live shows have always been something to look forward to for me because I know they’re going to give it their all and they enjoy every moment of being on stage. This was a nice treat as a fan of the band and something that I’ve enjoyed listening to. So… here’s to 25 years of Orange Goblin and hopefully another 25 years of hard rock and heavy metal.

10/10

Mick Birchall

Get the album for yourself here – https://orangegoblinofficial.bandcamp.com

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Orange Goblin reveal details on upcoming album, including 1st track

Posted in News with tags , , , , , on 17th August 2014 by Mickelrath

So, Orange Goblin will be back with a new record in 2014, titled “Back From The Abyss”. This will be the eighth studio album from the band since 1997. To celebrate this, Orange Goblin will be premiering the new song “The Devil’s Whip” on British radio, midnight on Monday 18 August on the BBC Radio 1 Rock/Metal show with Daniel P Carter. If you just can’t wait until then the song is also streaming on Loudwire. So go check it out here.

The song is simply awesome, it really has a true Motörhead vibe to it.  Joe Hoare’s guitar riffs are sounding better than ever. “Back From The Abyss” will be released October 7th 2014 on Candlelight Records. The band have also released the artwork:

OG Back From The Abyss artwork

This is an exciting time, since the release of 2012’s “A Eulogy for the Damned”, Orange Goblin have been gaining some serious momentum, which is a good thing as they’re a band that have been constantly and consistently working since their debut.  Last year they did a big tour in the UK, with Airbourne, and this year they have been tearing up the summer festivals all across Europe. Also, starting in October, they will be doing a massive European/UK tour with Saint Vitus. That is a show you don’t want to miss. Tour dates below.

October 2014

Thu 9th – Le Grillen, Colmar, FRANCE
Fri 10th – CCM John Lennon, Limoges, FRANCE
Sat 11th – Day of Doom Festival, Barcelona, SPAIN
Sun 12th – Shoko, Madrid, SPAIN
Mon 13th – RCA Club, Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Wed 15th – Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao, SPAIN
Thu 16th – Le Krakatoa, Bordeaux, FRANCE
Fri 17th – L’Usine, Geneva, SWITZERLAND
Sat 18th – Bloom Club, Mezzago, ITALY
Sun 19th – Traffic Live, Rome, ITALY
Mon 20th – Locomotiv Club, Bologna, ITALY
Tue 21st – Salzhaus, Winterthur, SWITZERLAND
Wed 22nd – Backstage Halle, Munich, GERMANY
Thu 23rd – Garage, Saarbrucken, GERMANY
Fri 24th – Le Fleche D’Or, Paris, FRANCE
Sat 25th – Le Grand Mix, Tourcoing, FRANCE
Sun 26th – Biebob, Vosselaar, BELGIUM
Tue 28th – The Fleece, Bristol, ENGLAND
Wed 29th – Heaven, London, ENGLAND
Thu 30th – Button Factory, Dublin, REP. OF IRELAND
Fri 31st – Limelight 2, Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND

November 2014

Sat 1st – Damnation Festival, Leeds, ENGLAND
Sun 2nd – Dutch Doom Days Fest – Rotterdam, HOLLAND
Mon 3rd – Luxor, Koln, GERMANY
Tue 4th – Beatpol, Dresden, GERMANY
Wed 5th – Fabryka, Krakow, POLAND
Thu 6th – SO36, Berlin, GERMANY
Fri 7th – Babel, Malmo, SWEDEN
Sat 8th – Debaser Strand, Stockholm, SWEDEN
Sun 9th – Parkteatret, Oslo, NORWAY
Tue 11th – Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Wed 12th – Knust / Grunspan, Hamburg, GERMANY
Thu 13th – Rosenhof, Osnabrueck, GERMANY
Fri 14th – F-Haus, Jena, GERMANY
Sat 15th – Hammer Of Doom Festival, Wurzburg, GERMANY

www.facebook.com/orangegoblinofficial

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Scorpion Child reveal artwork and tracklisting for self-titled debut album

Posted in News with tags , , , , , , , on 27th April 2013 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Austin’s hard rock sensation, Scorpion Child have revealed the artwork and tracklist from their forthcoming self-titled debut studio album.

Scorpion Child will be released June 24th, 2013 via Nuclear Blast. Produced and arranged by Chris “Frenchie” Smith (The Answer, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, The Toadies, Dax Riggs), the self-titled album was recorded using analog recording technology.

Available as a limited CD digipack, vinyl and digital download, the ‘Scorpion Child’ track-list reads as follows:

01. Kings Highway
02. Polygon Of Eyes
03. The Secret Spot
04. Salvation Slave
05. Liquor
06. Antioch
07. In The Arms Of Ecstasy
08. Paradigm
09. Red Blood (The River Flows)
Bonus tracks:
10. Keep Goin’ (Lucifer’s Friend cover)
11. Lover’s Leap (iTunes version only)

Scorpion Child come from lots of different places, not only logistically but musically. Their sound heralds back to early 70’s kraut and psych-rock with a modern twist and lists Pentagram, Hairy Chapter and Lucifer’s Friend as influences. They originally formed in 2006 and have spent the last few years perfecting both their songwriting and stage presence. Aryn Jonathan Black fronts the outfit with a siren-like voice reminiscent of a young Robert Plant. Guitarists Christopher Jay Cowart and Tom Frank layer high-energy twin-guitars over the band’s driving rhythm section fueled by Shaun Avants (bass) and Shawn Alvear (drums). Black comments:

Our influences are diversified as classic 80’s thrash metal to the old school southern blues of Blind Willie Johnson, Lemon Jefferson and Willie McTell. We came to Austin to form a band with a single vision and though we’ve played in different bands with a range of styles, after jamming together, we found our footing in what we do best.

The band have recently finished a lengthy US tour in support for the legendary Clutch and Orange Goblin!

http://scorpionchild.com
http://facebook.com/scorpionchild
http://nuclearblast.de/scorpionchild

 

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Glowsun – Eternal Season

Posted in Review with tags , , , , on 24th September 2012 by Paul

Glowsun
Eternal Season
Released September 28th, 2012
Stoner Metal
Released via Napalm Records

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Stoner Metal has a tendency to be an American and British phenomenon, so as it was I found myself surprised to learn that “Glowsun” are from France, a country not particularly known for its output within the Stoner/Doom spectrum of the Metal genre. If you hear the name “Glowsun” and think of bizarre, psychedelic atmospheres, you’d be right – that’s exactly what’s going on here. The album begins with “Death’s Face” featuring light and echoey melodies, then towards the end of the album’s first song, the guitars really start to kick in and things get a little heavier. It’s a creepy psychedelic song that builds to a crushing crescendo. Much of the rest of this album follows this formula of blending the soft with the heavy into a strange brew that is crushingly heavy and also strangely calming and meditative. The album chugs along at a medium pace for much of its duration and achieves that great paradox of Stoner Metal that is to sound huge and intense whilst also relaxing. This is attained through the repetition of simple melodies at a slow to medium pace. This isn’t a very exciting album, but that isn’t usually what the genre is all about.

Judging by the colourful album cover, I assumed this album would sound more “warm” than it does. Instead much of the music here is intentionally atmospheric and strange. The vocals are sparse to say the least, and mostly unintelligible, this being primarily an instrumental release; however the song titles such as “Death’s Face” “The Thing” and “Sleepwalker” give away the darker theme that fits the style present on the album. Legend has it that Black Sabbath decided upon their sound when going to see a horror movie and wondering if people would appreciate the same kind of atmosphere in a musical format; and in truth the music here has more in common with the dark, apocalyptic riffs of early Black Sabbath than it does with the desert rock of Kyuss. That is not to say the album is totally dark and dismal however, and admittedly it is more psychedelic than anything else. The songs plod along at a comfortable pace and feature a more open composition than the pop sensibilities of bands like Spirit Caravan and Orange Goblin. Unlike their contemporaries Om, who build a spiritual, meditative sound, this has more in common with traditional riff based Heavy Metal. This record sort of straddles the line between obvious throwback retro metal and the more modern approach of largely instrumental, atmospheric and avant-garde Stoner Metal with long and repetitive, drawn out song structures. Like a soundtrack to a 70s horror movie played with heavily distorted guitars, it’s creepy, atmospheric and psychedelic in all the right ways. I don’t think this kind of thing will win any converts to the genre, but this is really quite enjoyable to anyone who has the patience for this style of music. I can see myself listening to this release many more times over the coming months. An acquired taste, but a taste to savour.

3.9/5

Paul Gibbins

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Malefice Announce New Guitarist!

Posted in News with tags , , , , , , on 17th October 2011 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

After standing in for Alex Vuskans on the band’s recent UK tour with Sylosis, Malefice have announced that Andy Wilson will take over on a permanent basis.

Andy Wilson had the following to say: “I am very excited to be taking on the Malefice slot full time, the Sylosis tour couldn’t have gone any better and the musical chemistry is undeniable. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the band.”

Frontman Dale Butler also added: “There’s always controversy surrounding a band member leaving in any band. But I can’t stress enough how there is none in this situation. Alex felt he could no longer continue to give 100% to Malefice, and between us we decided that it would be better for him to leave. Alex is closer to me than most of my family, he’ll always be my brother no matter what and nothing will change between us all on a personal level.

Those of you that saw us on the Sylosis tour will have seen Andy at work. The guy is a fucking machine, and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have as my lead guitarist! Andy has already brought new ideas to this band that we’ll be working on together in the future!”

Upon his departure from the band Alex Vuskans bows out with this: “I just want to say a massive massive thank you to everyone that’s come to the shows, bought our albums and supported myself and the boys over the last 10 years that I’ve been in Malefice. You guys are awesome and have helped create memories that last with me for a lifetime. I also want to go on record and state that there is NO bad blood between myself and the other members in the band; they still and always will be my brothers no matter what. I simply feel that now is the time for me to try new things in my life, whatever they may be. I wish nothing but success to the guys for the future and look forward to following their continued journey as a fan and not an active member. It’s been emotional!”

Malefice have announced they will play two very special shows in October. Having just finished up a monstrous tour with Sylosis and label mates Anterior the Reading outfit have been added to the bill of the Metal Hammer 25th birthday party in London along with Orange Goblin, Dirty DC and more to be announced. Tickets are at a 1986 price of £2.50!

A week later they will join Skindred, Therapy?, Rolo Tomassi, Yashin and The Treatment at the Jagermeister ‘Ice Cold In Birmingham’ special on the 31st.

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