Band:	Orange Goblin
Album:	Back From The Abyss
Style:	Stoner metal
Release date:	October 07, 2014
A review by:	R'Vannith

01. Sabbath Hex
02. Übermensch
03. The Devil's Whip
04. Demon Blues
05. Heavy Lies The Crown
06. Into The Arms Of Morpheus
07. Mythical Knives
08. Bloodzilla
09. The Abyss
10. Titan
11. Blood Of Them
12. The Shadow Over Innsmouth

Always standing sturdy and swathing in their favoured pub's distinctive aroma, British stoner riff articulates Orange Goblin are the kind of band that know full well how blessed they are with a pool cue. If the game here be one of sinking their discographical equivalent of an eight ball, they've got this in the pocket.

It seems that it's a case of the older the bolder with these guys, yet with the volume of piss 'n' vinegar increasing at an exponential rate. Each successive record runs on a continual high of song writing adrenaline that gives ample reason for adulation for fans of the subgenre's melodically imbued. An uncompromising voice and rhythm section demands your attention in the same manner as an inebriated bar patron grabbing you by the scruff of the neck, turning you about then shouting alcohol induced mythical fancies into your face. Folks, pull up a seat, it's STORY TIME!

Their stonernaut's message to Earth in Back From The Abyss may appear to be somewhat generic fare, yet it continues to be delivered with such poise and know-how that the presentation here belies the exceptionally astute musicianship. After all, they've been to the Abyss and back to deliver what is a nicely varied track list that finds them as a clearly identifiable outlier in their metallic sub-genre's ilk. Take the beast "Bloodzilla" as the perfect exemplification of the band's brand. With a devastatingly rolling rhythm and up-tempo forward drive, a backing guitar screech cleverly projects an image for the lyrical line "Lightning strikes," a fun minimal feature to have listeners grinning from ear to ear. The band are not one to draw immediate attention to their influences, and "The Devil's Whip" is the kind of cut that lashes out into Motörhead territory with an "all guns blazing" attitude, yet driven home with a stoner metal personality all their own.

Changing things up with "Heavy Lies The Crown," we get dropped off in groove central before the track dynamically flows and shifts within a singular six minute song, which ably demonstrates the band's command over variation. This is a defining feature for them; never falling flat into hapless repetition and always ongoing in an expansion of their tunes, to which this latest record, as well as its predecessor A Eulogy For The Damned, provide their most well produced efforts. The sound is loud and housed in ample mastering to give the direct nature of the tracks their due.

Record to record, strength to strength, Orange Goblin's album number eight really is a ball.