Orange Goblin plays with facts.
Formed in 1995 (or 1994 under the name Our Haunted Kingdom), the London band led by Ben Ward (vocals), Joe Hoare (guitar), Chris Turner (drums) and recently Harry Armstrong (bass, The Earls of Mars, ex-Hangnail…) signed with Peaceville Records in 2024 to announce the release of Science, Not Fiction, their tenth album.
Silence reigns over the opening moments of The Fire At The Centre Of The Earth Is Mine, but is quickly overtaken by the catchy Stoner groove, then by the rocky vocals that give the track its raw personality. The dissonant guitars add an airy touch, while the solos confirm the band’s heavy roots, as on (Not) Rocket Science, the single released to present the album, which immediately reassured fans of the band with its warm motivating riffs. The band adopts a different stance on Ascend The Negative, a slightly heavier and more ponderous composition that nevertheless remains in an energetic register before moving into more jerky, slowed-down tones, before offering us a moment’s respite with the more soaring tone of False Hope Diet, followed by that Sabbathian approach to rhythm. The vocal parts graft themselves naturally onto the sound and its temporary waves of sweetness, then Cemetary Rats brings the band a macabre edge, with a few ominous samples in particular, but the musicians will eventually accelerate to offer ferocious riffs over a steady tempo. This is followed by The Fury Of A Patient Man, where the tones become more moderate again, while still bringing their own little fix of energy, but the composition is relatively short, and gives way to Gemini (Twins Of Evil) and its progressive introduction, which fascinates us before the rhythm carries us away in its intoxicating dance, which almost seems to slow down with the arrival of backing vocals. The Justice Knife picks up the pace again, with more vivid influences giving the composition a more vindictive rhythm, which continues even through the psychedelic final. The album then returns to more vaporous notes with End Of Transmission, where Blues roots nuance the calmer moments between bursts of saturation. We even have a few words of narration to drive the track along, a relatively well-thought-out way of setting a different pace.
The limited edition contains a final track, Eye Of The Minotaur, which doesn’t really take any risks, but presents its riffs in a very Old School way, sometimes borrowing a few more influences but remaining relatively thick.
Orange Goblin‘s reputation precedes them, and with a career spanning almost thirty years, they’re not done with groove yet! Science, Not Fiction will be the perfect summer soundtrack for fans of heavy thick sound!
85/100