ORANGE GOBLIN - Eulogy for the Damned CD review

ORANGE GOBLIN - Eulogy for the Damned CD

Candlelight Records

Genre: Doom / Stoner Rock


Seeing that this is their first release since 2007, as well as being their first for Candlelight, I'm hoping since that time some people's attitudes toward this consistently great band might have changed. ORANGE GOBLIN are a British act who for years got the "too good to be true" snub attitude from critics, the same ones stupid enough to like THE SWORD, go figure? While at the same time they garnered a dedicated fan base who to this day consider their six previous full lengths to be exceptional. I personally consider 1998's Time Travelling Blues to be an essential. Therefore Eulogy for the Damned is a perfect album title since it reflects this band's history of releasing exceptional material and yet never getting the credit they deserve. This latest one does not stray away from their standard pirating of Americanna sounds (ie: southern sludge & desert sessions stoner rock) while adding the obligatory Iommi riffage and 70's classic hard rock influences.

Their 2007 release, Healing Through Fire, showed that these Brits were not limited to the constraints of the stoner rock genre. Eulogy for the Damned is a continuation of that vibe holding true to their love of American Southern Rock as evident on the title track as well as cuts like "Stand for Something" and the LYNYRD SKYNYRD influenced "Save Me from Myself". Personally I've always liked it when they ripped into their stoner version of MOTORHEAD meets Deliverance era CORROSION OF CONFORMITY while retro-fitting some late 60's biker rock. There's plenty of that on here starting with the opening cut "Red Tide Rising" and the groove layden "The Fog". Although my favorite is "The Filthy and the Few", a sonically charged ode to the one percenter easy rider out there who still gets hassled by the man.

Finally this wouldn't be a proper ORANGE GOBLIN release without some cosmic blues numbers. Although their days (or is it daze?) of epic LSD trance inducing sagas is over they still kick out some jams. On "Death of Aquarius" and "The Bishops Wolf" they add a subtle ZEPPPLIN meets SABBATH influence while covering territory more akin to the sounds of KYUSS as well as SPIRITUAL BEGGARS. As per recipe these cuts come near the end of the release. A few years might have passed but this band hasn't changed sound wise since we last heard from them. Their unwillingness to compromise in order to please flavor of the month obsessed critics is why their fanbase is so dedicated. Maybe now that their brand of rock is in vogue with the lesser posing schmucks in the media we'll see former haters falling over themselves in order to play catch up on this act's greatness. It's about fuckin time for them to come around. We always knew it was good.

RATING: 5/5



Label: http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk/

Official: http://www.orange-goblin.com/