Orange Goblin – Science, Not Fiction

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · August 28, 2024

I remember when I first heard Orange Goblin. It was from the old, stoner rock dot com site, where I discovered so many bands, dating back to 2005. They had five records out at that time, Thieving From The House Of God being their latest. I ended up buying their fourth record Coup De Grace as my introduction to the band. The artwork on the record looked cool and Scott Reeder (Kyuss) recorded it at his studio. As another incentive, John Garcia (Kyuss) sang on two of the songs. To make a long story short, I proceeded to buy all of their albums and became a huge fan ever since. Orange Goblin incorporated a lot of musical influences into their sound. Heavy metal, hard rock, stoner, southern rock, hardcore, psychedelic, you name it.

Orange Goblin formed in 1995 and are from London, England. They are considered one of the longstanding front runners and pioneers in the stoner rock/metal genre. The band’s lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, drummer Chris Turner, and bassist Harry Armstrong. They just released their tenth studio album on July 19th, 2024, entitled Science, Not Fiction.

Orange Goblin has never disappointed me with anything they’ve done. The band have built upon their influences with each record and never fell off track to what makes them so prominent, interesting, and so damn good! Science, Not Fiction is no exception. The record sounds amazing! The production and mixing are terrific. The great thing about Orange Goblin is the density and growth ability with their music. For me at least, I initially like it but with each consecutive listen it just grows and grows on me, until I am completely hooked. This was definitely the case with this record. The newest addition of bassist Harry Armstrong has brought the band new life in these nine songs.

The record starts off with “The Fire At The Centre Of The Earth.” This is classic OG all the way! The song begins with ambient noise leading into distorted bass, with the guitars joining in, followed by the heavy drumming, and an “Oh yeah!” from Big Ben. The music is built upon with good heavy riffs and the trademark biker metal sound that is Orange Goblin. This is a great opening track that gets this record going. “(Not) Rocket Science” was the first single and is a straight ahead rocking tune. It even has a cool bass lead after the guitar solo and shows new bassist Armstrong’s talents. Guitarist Joe Hoare is an exceptional player! His riffs and leads are among the best in the business, in my opinion. Drummer Chris Turner is a savage behind the drum kit and very underrated for his contribution to the band also. “Ascend The Negative” is another fury of a song with grandiose riffing. Ben Ward hits his stride with his burly style singing which can sound aggressive and powerfully beautiful too. He’s a true front man in every sense of the word. On “False Hope Diet” he delivers some good and raspy vocals. The song features some shredding leads from Hoare and layered keyboards which create a somewhat orchestrated sound. The subject matter is heavy too, specifically addressing the 2020 pandemic crisis.

“ Cemetery Rats” is a fantastic tune! The song starts with a dark dirge of organ followed by phase distorted bass. It has a slow and heavy start that picks up the pace into a rocking frenzy. Ward’s vocals register low to almost death metal frequencies on certain parts and the song chugs along in a Motörhead esc hardcore groove. Great lead guitars and some high octave bass runs also. “The Fury Of A Patient Man” and “The Justice Knife” are both solid mid pace rockers with tight playing and strong rhythms with explosive riffing. “Gemini (Twins Of Evil)” delivers the metal with Hoare’s exquisite guitar mastery and Ward’s gruff vocals. Orange Goblin manages to create new material that sounds fresh and relevant and pieces all their collective musical elements together. The closing song “End Of Transmission” hammers this point home with shear brilliance. With nearly thirty years of experience among 3/4 of the band playing together, Orange Goblin has the musical dexterity and determination to deliver yet another classic record. Science, Not Fiction will grow on you if given the opportunity and will probably become a favorite among many of the records released in 2024.