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Released on October 6, 2014 via Candlelight Records
And so the mighty London hard rockers Orange Goblin return with a slab of thunderous stoner infused metal in the shape of their new 8th studio album Back From The Abyss. Released this October via Candlelight Records vocalist Ben Ward comments:
“Following the great, worldwide reception of A Eulogy For The Damned and the subsequent 2 years of touring everywhere, we knew we had a lot to live up to. But we were prepared and entered the studio armed with an arsenal of killer riffs! They are all present on this album, continuing the Orange Goblin trend of never being afraid to move forward or trying something new. By doing so we have created a unique, heavy sound that lies somewhere between doom, stoner, classic metal, 70’s inspired heavy-rock, punk, blues and everything in between.
We worked with producer Jamie Dodd at The Animal Farm in London again as he did such a great job on the last record and I think he has even gone one better this time around! Adding Jamie’s amazing production to the outstanding performances and songwriting of the band, we have made an album we are all very proud of.
Our last album gave the band new life and sent us off into the unknown. This new album sees Orange Goblin stretching the limits once more………Back from the Abyss and ready to rock all over again!!”
With this release Orange Goblin had to pull out all the stops to top or even come close to their last album Eulogy For The Damned, but I think they may have just done it! As Ben says above they have recorded this album off the back of touring with some of the best bands in metal today, for example Down, Clutch and Airbourne and they’ve used this experience to mature as songwriters. This is clearly reflected in this collection of tunes which exhibits a greater degree of musical variation than ever before.
However, fear not! The band hasn’t gone all nu-metal or anything crazy like that. It’s still vintage Goblin but with welcome extra touches which definitely keep the listener tuned in to the songs as they slowly unravel. The overall sound is both stoner and retro but with modern production values. At times I detected notes of doom metal and a sprinkling of punk, a few progressive undertones and a dash of psychedelic weirdness. However, the thick sludgy trademark sound and groovy rhythms still remain.
These subtle departures also have the effect of making the album a definite grower. By this, I mean that the album isn’t as immediately accessible as some of their other offerings. I found that by the third or fourth listen the songs clicked and I enjoyed them more and more.
Each of the tracks puts out a clear invitation to bang you head, pump your fists in the air, slurp beer and make a general nuisance of yourself. For example, songs such as ‘The Devil’s Whip’ (the first single released) channels the spirit of Motörhead and is a real sleazy banger of a tune. The group has obviously thought about the sequence of each track too as ‘The Devils Whip’ sits nicely between the sweeping ‘Übermensch’ and the more melodious ‘Demon Blues’.
So, in summary, Back From The Abyss is yet another terrific album from Ward, Millard, Hoare and Turner. Each song adds to the layers of consistently good vibes and it’s a very worthy addition to their ever expanding catalogue. While the overall direction of the band continues to slide away from their pure stoner roots and more towards hard rocking metal and also while it doesn’t offer anything particularly innovative or ground-breakingly new the passion and commitment of the lads really shines through. The album definitely shows an ever developing sound and that is to be commended. Without doubt Back From The Abyss proves that tenacity and hard work does indeed succeed; I can’t wait to hear some of these tracks played live.
