Orange Goblin - Healing Through Fire

Purple Mushroomfish

By Mike Richards

For ten years now Orange Goblin have asserted themselves at the very top of the underground heavy rock scene, seemingly moments away from battling their way into the rock and roll mainstream and showing the world that no one does heavy music like the British.

But no. Despite tours with some of the rock greats (Queens of the Stone Age, Danzig, Monster Magnet), Goblin have never crossed that threshold into international stardom. And I’ve always wondered why. But now it’s 2007 and Goblin have launched their latest bid.

Healing Through Fire has captured a sound that truly defines the band’s evolution. The psychedelia and slow blues that was so prominent on their first album is now much more subtle, but by no means lost. In the same way, the metal influences that defined the previous album have also been tamed. But don’t think just because I’ve used the word ‘tamed’ that it’s any less abrasive, or in fact any worse than its predecessors. To my mind this the definitive Goblin record, and maybe even the definitive British heavy rock album of the new millennium.