Dave Chamberlain

This British quintet was among the U.K.'s first doom/metal revivalists in the mid-nineties, a long-haired, biker-borne slab of big hooks and low-tuned guitars played with equal shades of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Motorhead. Unlike some of its contemporaries, Orange Goblin doesn't necessarily rely on plodding tempo to increase the weight, instead letting riffs fly at their own natural pace and cadence, be they fast or slow. The band's first two records, "Time Travelling Blues" and "Frequencies From Planet Ten" (both recently reissued as one double CD on Rise Above Records) have a mean edge, more in line with Hell's Angels drug music than Satan. (Though "Frequencies" has a few extended acid jams that recall Hawkwind's space rock as much as any pure metal.) "Big Black," the Goblin's third, showed the band flashing forward to a more occult-driven, Black Sabbath persona, easing off the walls-of-hammer-fuzz in favor of greater psychedelic texture and a slower pace. Lead singer Ben Ward is blessed with the perfect voice for stoner metal--a controlled melting point between Ozzy and James Hetfield--which never forces him to resort to metal cliché and helps to keep even the lesser songs on a tolerable track. OG's just released "Thieving from the House of God" (Music Cartel), the band's first without rhythm guitarist Pete O'Malley, strips down the sound a bit, but the band rediscovers its sledge-hammer riffs all the same. There's even a bit of experimental flavor, with "Black Egg" featuring female vocals, and a one-minute hardcore blast, "Tosh Lines." Pound for pound, it's a stronger record than its past few, a record likely to earn them new fans and re-energize the Goblin's faithful.

Orange Goblin plays May 24 at the Double Door, 1572 North Milwaukee, (773)489-3160.

(2004-05-18)

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