UMUR "Frequencies from Planet Ten" is the debut full-length studio album by UK, London based stoner metal act Orange Goblin. The album was released through Rise Above Records in 1997. Orange Goblin formed in 1995. They were however already active from 1994 to 1995 under the Our Haunted Kingdom monicker. They initially played doom/death metal, but when they decided for a stylistic change they also opted for a name change.

"Frequencies from Planet Ten" opens with "The Astral Project", and right of the bat the listener is treated to heavy groove laden riffs and energetic organic rhythms of the late 60s blues rock school (...and of course early 70s Black Sabbath). Just add a healthy dose of heaviness and a spoonful of psychadelia and you´re halfway there. Orange Goblin actually incorporate quite a few mellow and stoned psychadelic moments on the album to compliment their heavy riffs. Lead vocalist Ben Ward sings both raw and more mellow type vocals. He is not the most distinct sounding vocalist on the scene and his vocals are actually one of the less interesting features on the album, but he gets the job done.

"Frequencies from Planet Ten" is well produced, featuring a powerful organic sounding production, which suits the material well. So it´s an album featuring both good and less remarkable moments and features. The songwriting is decent but nothing out of the ordinary for the genre, and you´ll find very little here you haven´t heard before. That´s more or less the premise of the stoner metal genre, but artists are always welcome to add just a little bit of originality to the table, which Orange Goblin pretty much neglect to do here. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Kingcrimsonprog A lot of bands seem to be delaying their new albums due to the whole COVID19 crisis that has been going on in 2020 at time of writing. Luckily other bands are filling the gap with B-Sides collections, new singles, and in the case of cult British Stoner Metal band Orange Goblin, fantastic live albums.

Rough And Ready Live And Loud is the second live album from ‘Goblin and comes hot on the heals of the touring for 2018’s superb The Wolf Bites Back album.

Now, I must confess, I am a relatively new Orange Goblin fan. I saw them live supporting Down in about 2012 at my first concert since I had moved to a new city and was in a weird phase of not really enjoying anything and so although I thought they were decent, I wasn’t in the mood to explore more. However, luckily I caught them live again a year or two ago supporting C.O.C and was blown clean away. Singer Ben Ward is such a charismatic dynamo of a singer, who revs the crowd up like nobody’s business, with such a fun attitude that I was instantly converted, and have been using all the Birthdays and Christmases ever since to go back through their back catalogue and get all their records.

Have you heard the phrase ‘’it does what it says on the tin’’ ?. Well, lets just say that Rough & Ready, Live & Loud really is an appros pos title. The production and recording style of this album is fuzzy, dirty and absolutely perfect for Stoner Rock/Metal fans. The bass tone is to die for. It isn’t too smoothed out or polished, but it isn’t too tiny, tinny and kvlt to be listenable. It feels live and sweaty, like you’re really there.

The setlist focuses a lot on the band’s three newest albums. There’s bouncy catchy moments like ‘Sons of Salem’ and ‘The Filthy And The Few,’ there’s Motorhead-leaning fast tracks like ‘The Devil’s Whip’ and ‘Renegade’ and there’s some slower stuff like ‘Mystical Knives.’

That’s not to say that it’s all new material. There’s some material from most of their albums. ‘Some You Win, Some You Lose’ from Thieving From The House Of God. Some older tracks like ‘Made Of Rats’ from Coup De Grace, ‘Shine’ and the Title Track from Time Traveling Blues and ‘Sauruman’s Wish’ from the debut album Frequencies From Planet Ten. Basically; the only albums not represented are The Big Black and Healing Through Fire.

The album artwork is really clever too, featuring images from many of the band’s previous records combined together in one image that looks like it was supposed to be that way anyway. Its fitting with the album’s subtitle, ‘25 Years Of British Rock & Heavy Metal.’

Since it is in essence a 25 year retrospective that covers most of their records in some form or other, this album would be a fine introduction for any new fans, and if you are an existing fan, all the new material gives you something different from their last live record.

I highly recommend this album. The performances on here are absolutely electric, the drums slam, the guitars crunch, the slower moments are nice and trippy, the guitar leads are blazing and when the tempo speeds up the aforementioned frontman bubbles with excitement. It’s a very uplifting record that oozes with fun. You can almost feel the sticky venue floor beneath your feet. They released a music video for this album’s version of ‘The Devil’s Whip’ which I’d recommend you try out if you want to see if this live album, or even if this band, are your cup of tea.

[Side note: If you haven’t heard the band before; but like bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, Nebula, Sheavy or Sleep, or indeed bands like the aforementioned Down and C.O.C, but also love Motorhead or like it when Stoner music goes fast (like High On Fire when they step on the gas pedal) then I can pretty much guarantee you’ll enjoy Orange Goblin].

UMUR "Back from the Abyss" is the 8th full-length studio album by UK heavy/stoner metal act Orange Goblin. The album was released through Candlelight Records in October 2014. It´s been a couple of years since the release of "A Eulogy for the Damned (2012)", but the lineup who recorded that album is still intact and ready to bring some new music to their fans.

Stylistically there aren´t that many surprises on "Back from the Abyss", if you´re familiar with the band´s back catalogue and especially not if you´re familiar with it´s direct predecessor, which features a pretty similar sound and production. We´re treated to a stoner/traditional heavy metal hybrid that mostly draws heavily on a Black Sabbath influence, but I also hear the occasional nod towards Motörhead and Thin Lizzy, just to mention a couple of the influences that come to mind, while listening to the album.

The band are as always well playing, with heavy stoner/doomy riffs, organic drumming, and Ben Ward´s raw vocals in front. Just as the case was on the predecessor, the professional, clear and powerful sound production is almost too "nice" and polished for the band´s music, and while there´s as such nothing wrong with the production, I still think I would have prefered a more gritty and organic sound production.

The material are generally well written and relatively catchy, but I wouldn´t say many tracks stand out, and it doesn´t take more than a couple of tracks, before it´s clear what it is the band are aiming for, which is not always a bad thing, but here it would have been nice with something new. So as I wrote above, there are very few surprises during the 54:10 minutes long playing time.

Hopefully that doesn´t sound too negative, because overall "Back from the Abyss" is another strong release by Orange Goblin. They´ve maintained a relatively high quality level throughout their career, and "Back from the Abyss" is not the album which ruins that statistic. It´s not exactly their best either, but a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR This is a split EP between UK doom/stoner metal acts Electric Wizard and Orange Goblin released through Man's Ruin Records in December 1997. The split features the two tracks from the "Chrono.naut (1997)" EP by Electric Wizard merged into one long track and the two tracks from the "Nuclear Guru (1997)" single by Orange Goblin.

the 17:06 minutes long version of the "Chrono.naut" tracks is a treat to my ears. Starting out über distorted, heavy and raw and closing in a jamming psychadelic fashion. While heavily influenced by especially Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard had a really distinct sound in those days. The Orange Goblin part of the split is also well worth the money. The "Nuclear Guru" track which later appeared on the band´s second full-length studio album "Time Travelling Blues (1998)", is a great stoner/doom metal track heavily influenced by Black Sabbath. As if I hadn´t mentioned Black Sabbath enough in this review, the second track by Orange Goblin on the split is a cover version of "Hand of Doom" by Black Sabbath. It sticks pretty close to the original, but it´s an enjoyable and well performed cover.

At 30:55 minutes this split is well worth you money if you look at quantity alone, but when you add to the equation, that the music by both artists are of high quality, I´d not hesitate to call this a great release too. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Nuclear Guru" is a single by UK stoner metal act Orange Goblin. The single was released through Man's Ruin Records in November 1997. Later that same year the two tracks from this single were featured on a split with UK doom metal act Electric Wizard. The title track from the single would also be featured on the band´s second full-length studio album "Time Travelling Blues (1998)".

The title track is a "typical" Orange Goblin track from those days. catchy stoner/doom metal heavily influenced by Black Sabbath. The second track on the single is a cover version of "Hand of Doom" by Black Sabbath. It sticks pretty close to the original, but it´s an enjoyable and well performed cover.

"Nuclear Guru" is a bit of a collector´s item and I´d recommend getting the 1997 split with Electric Wizard insteased of this single, as you get both tracks from the single plus the 17:06 minutes long "Chrono.naut" track by Electric Wizard on the split. Isolated seen this single is a great purchase though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.