• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

April 2024

• Vanden Plas: The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things
• Praying Mantis: Defiance
• King Zebra: Between The Shadows
• About Us: Take A Piece
• Blue Oyster Cult: Ghost Stories

March 2024

• Cruzh: The Jungle Revolution
• Whom Gods Destroy: Insanium
• The Prog Collective: Dark Encounters
• Lords Of Black: Mechanics Of Predacity
• Lipz: Changing The Melody
• The End Machine: The Quantum Phase
• Stargate: Escaping The Illusion
• Turbulence: Binary Dream
• Sonata Arctica: Clear Cold Beyond
• D'Luna: Monster
• Big Big Train: The Likes Of Us
• Benjamin Croft: We Are Here To Help

February 2024

• Traveler: Prequel To Madness
• Lionheart: The Grace Of A Dragonfly
• Honeymoon Suite: Alive
• Durbin: Screaming Steel
• Smoking Snakes: Danger Zone
• Revolution Saints: Against The Winds
• Striker: Ultrapower
• Show N Tell: The Ritual Has Begun
• Robert Hart: Circus Life

January 2024

• Corvus: Immortals
• Caligula's Horse: Charcoal Grace
• Grand: Second To None
• Neal Morse: The Restoration - Joseph - Part Two
• The Rods: Rattle The Cage
• Gotus: Gotus
• Metalite: Expedition One
• Cobrakill: Serpent's Kiss
• Jack Russell & Tracii Guns: Medusa
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 1
• The Grandmaster: Black Sun

[ More Music Reviews ]

Orange Goblin: A Eulogy for the Damned

Heavy/Stoner Rock/Metal

3.5/5.0

Website Facebook YouTube
SPV/Steamhammer
by Craig Hartranft,  02.06.2012

Orange Goblin. Just hearing that band name brings a smile to the face. On their seventh release, now on Candlelight Records, A Eulogy for the Damned keeps the stoner rock true to form and true to their legacy.

Above, Orange Goblin: a stoner band visible in the light of day, so unusual.

As stoner rock or metal can be sometimes ambiguous, A Eulogy for the Damned does not disappoint. The music here is equal parts Seventies heavy and psychedelic rock and early Eighties New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). Generally, throughout, Orange Goblin keeps the pace quick. This is not doom or sludge metal, also areas that stoner bands explore. No, by example, Red Tide Rising and Acid Trial, for lack of a better word, rock. A rock groove invades most songs here. The pace can slow, but only to be steady as on Death of Aquarius. So we have an upbeat rocking stoner album? Who'd thunk?

But it's not all crisp Columbian buds and dimebags. A Eulogy for the Damned delivers the momentum, especially on the rhythm section side, and decidedly with Chris Turner's powerful drumming. But then you stumble into The Fog, an apt description of the murky stoner rock that follows. Certainly, this is not the worst that can be offered. Yet it seems mundane and derivative. But the Goblins rebound on the stoner epic of the title track; once more the music rises, as cream, to the top.

That last observation leads to another. Ben Ward's vocals seem muted, or muffled. He doesn't sound above or below the music; maybe beside it or, at the very worst, an after thought. It makes you wonder if, in a live setting, you can actually hear him. Possibly, it doesn't matter, and maybe he doesn't care. Whatever. I'll dig the drums, and Joe Hoare's guitar work can get nicely spicey, also.

With A Eulogy for the Damned, Orange Goblin stays true to their stoner sound, possibly sounding more upbeat than normal (if you can believ that). If you dig heavy or stoner rock and metal, then A Eulogy for the Damned is for you.

More Ways to Share This Review

With A Eulogy for the Damned, Orange Goblin stays true to their stoner sound, possibly sounding more upbeat than normal. If you dig heavy or stoner rock and metal, then A Eulogy for the Damned is for you.

Alphabetical Index

Three years have passed since Sweden's Cruzh dropped their second long-player, Tropical Thunder, also introducing their new singer, Alex Waghorn. Now the band returns with The Jungle Revolution ... [ Read More ]