Orange Goblin's 'Science, Not Fiction' - Album Review

When it comes to British heavy metal, there are few bands outside of the genuine heavyweights who are held in such high regard as the London-based four-piece Orange Goblin. They may be the country's ultimate cult band when it comes to pure heavy metal - as Orange Goblin have never exactly been world-beaters, but they are loved and respected by many for their old-school aesthetic and raw, uncompromising sound. Whilst they started out as a stoner/doom band, and are often still referred to as such, over the years they have toned down those elements of their sound somewhat - instead just morphing into pure, rock and roll-inspired, heavy metal. There is certainly plenty of both Black Sabbath and Motörhead to be found in Orange Goblin's sound - and I think that it is fair to describe them as a bit of a mix of both with some hardcore punk thrown in very occasionally. Elements of stoner and the bluesier end of doom remain, but the band have not genuinely been such for a number of years now - with their recent releases instead being lean and mean. Speaking of recent releases, though, prior to last month it had been quite a while since the band released anything new. Their last album, The Wolf Bites Back, came out in 2018 - meaning that it had been six years since we had last properly heard from the band, which was the longest gap between releases in their career. Generally they have been pretty prolific, releasing nine albums between 1997 and 2018 - but recent years have been slower for the band. The pandemic likely did not help - especially as bassist Martyn Millard essentially retired towards the end of 2020. Orange Goblin are not a band known for line-up changes - and they had essentially remained the same since they formed in 1995, with the exception of original second guitarist Pete O'Malley leaving in 2004. O'Malley was never replaced, though, with the band shrinking down to a four-piece, so Millard's retirement meant that someone new would need to be brought in for the first time in their career. Multi-instrumentalist and long-time friend of the band Harry Armstrong (Decomposed; Hangnail; End of Level Boss; The Earls of Mars; Blind River) came on board in 2021, though, and Orange Goblin have been operating as a fully-functioning unit again since. Armstrong is a veteran of the underground UK rock and metal scene, and had actually previously contributed some additional vocals to 2000's The Big Black, so I imagine he slipped in seamlessly - and I actually saw the current line-up's first ever show in 2021 at an outdoor post-pandemic mini-festival in Cornwall. I also saw them in London later that year and frontman Ben Ward announced at the show that a new album would be released soon - but it would take three years for such to actually drop, with Science, Not Fiction finally seeing the light of day last month. The band's tenth album, Science, Not Fiction feels like a natural continuation of The Wolf Bites Back, though, albeit somewhat expanded. The Wolf Bites Back is quite a short and punchy album, and that general approach is retained here, but Science, Not Fiction reins in the Motörhead-esque vibes at times to lay down some thick and fuzzy grooves. Guitarist Joe Hoare seems to be particularly on fire here and it is clear that the gap between releases and the line-up change has not had a negative impact.

Despite Orange Goblin's raw and heavy sound, Science, Not Fiction sounds fantastic. Mike Exeter's production job is big and bold - but there is great separation between all of the instruments and Ward's vocals cut through nicely. Opening number The Fire at the Centre of the Earth Is Mine is a great example of this, and the album's core sound more generally, with the mid-paced piece kicking the album off in fine fashion. Some synth-driven pulses set a spooky tone early on, but once Armstrong's busy opening bass riff kicks in the song really gets going - with Hoare soon joining in with a Black Sabbath-esque riff which forms the basis of the song going forward. The opening guitar riffing is varied, though, and there is a mini instrumental break as the song establishes itself - before drummer Chris Turner settles into a tight groove and the verses feel like a heavier version of mid-1970s Black Sabbath thanks to Ward's bellowing vocals, which sound as good as ever. Despite the band having been around since the mid-1990s, Ward sounds as good now as he did during the band's early years. He has recently given up drinking, and seems to be enjoying a new lease of healthy living, and his vital energy really drives this song - his roaring voice cutting through the bluesy riffing and the pulse from Armstrong's bass. The chorus is pretty hooky, too, with a mix of faster and slower riffing to create something anthemic - with some pretty thick grooves being laid down by Hoare during the slower sections, before he later launches into an excellent guitar solo. Lead single (Not) Rocket Science picks up the pace quite considerably, with the Motörhead-esque song harking back to the previous album in a big way and injecting quite a lot of energy into the early part of this album. Whilst Orange Goblin might be better known for their grooves and bluesy side, I tend to prefer the band when they speed things up and really go for it. There is nothing particularly fancy about songs like this, but the band can really turn up the energy when they want to. The ZZ Top-on-speed shuffle of the rhythm section is the perfect basis for Hoare's busy and up-tempo riffing, whilst an instrumental section later sees both guitar and bass solos injecting some additional fun into the song. Ward sounds great, too, though, with his machine gun vocal melodies during the verses perfectly suiting the song's energy - whilst the chorus feels like one which is certain to go down well live thanks to some easy hooks. Ascend the Negative slows the pace down again, with a strong mid-paced groove being established from the off via another big guitar riff. Unlike the first song which featured more of a varied guitar approach throughout, this song is generally one which relies on a simpler arrangement riff-wise to create an infectious groove - with bluesy guitar leads utilised occasionally to break up the pattern. Songs like this hark back to the band's early days somewhat, but the song just feels more metallic overall than the fuzzier sounds of those earlier records. There is a potency to the riffing despite the doomy aesthetic - and there are hints of bands like Corrosion of Conformity within this song's walls, especially towards the end as, after a spoken word section, the pace slows down again to present a doomy, headbanging darkness which takes over for the rest of the piece.

False Hope Diet leans on the band's stoner side in a greater manner than anything else on the album up to this point. The previous song sounded like an updated, heavier take on that sound - but False Hope Diet really could have sat on any of the band's first handful of albums easily. The guitar tones used here are much less cutting, with a bluesier, fuzzier tone used instead - with the occasional clean guitar melody used to add a psychedelic and hypnotic element overall. As such, the arrangement of this track is a little different compared to everything else which has been heard on the album to this point. There is less of a hard-driving sound, with the band instead feeling a bit more laid back despite the song still sounding huge. The riffing is potent but it feels much looser, with the bass instead providing a real grounding as it cuts through the mix. I tend to prefer the band's more recent albums, as I am not a big listener to stoner music, but I can still appreciate their older albums. This song is a fun hark back to that sound, with occasional spacey keyboards providing additional depth and Hoare's cosmic guitar solo. Cemetary Rats is much more in my wheelhouse, though. It opens with some haunting piano melodies, setting a Hammer Horror-esque tone, before a very Geezer Bulter-esque bass line takes over - creating a slow-burning groove over which Hoare lays down some off-the-cuff leads before joining properly with a riff. All of this is just the song's extended intro, though, as the song proper is another fast, barn-burning anthem - which truly gets going after the excellent intro with possibly the album's fastest and heaviest riff. This is another song with strong Motörhead vibes, but there are also shades of nastier bands like Venom here at times - particularly as Ward adopts a slightly harsher vocal style during the chorus. It is certainly not extreme metal but the band clearly wanted to really dirty things up with this track - and the fast-paced anthem is easily one of the best cuts here in my opinion. Its fast pace and Ward's throat-shredding vocal performance is sure to make the song a live favourite going forward - with both a shout-along chorus and a shredded guitar solo helping the song to stand out. The Fury of a Patient Man is another pretty up-tempo track and, unlike the previous song, it just gets going right away. There none of the build up of the previous song, then, with this shorter piece generally being another hard-driving song with Armstrong's bass leading everything whilst Ward returns to his usual gravelly bellow. Despite the song's short length and its up-tempo vibe, though, there are moments which shake up the formula. This is another song which occasionally throws in some cleaner sounding guitars and a slight psychedelic edge with some less heavy moments to shake things up - but generally the song is another headbanger that sticks to the band's core sound.

Gemini (Twins of Evil) is a bit more mid-paced than the last couple of tracks, with a fat and lumbering sound which is not too dissimilar to how Ascend the Negative sounded earlier in the album. There are shades of the band's earlier albums, then, but this is not a full return to that more psychedelic stoner sound. There is less emphasis on clean guitar breaks and atmospherics, then, although there are a few spacey guitar leads made use of in the background occasionally - but generally the guitars are tough-sounding, even if they are not as potent as they often are on this album. This is another song which feels a little more laid back, then, but it does get a bit more intense as it moves along - with some of the closing vocal lines including some pretty high-octane vocal harmonies, likely from Armstrong. This freaky closing section helps the song to stand out from some of the others here - and it is great how much subtle variety there is here despite Orange Goblin generally sticking to a winning formula. The Justice Knife picks up the pace again and the song is a hard-driving rocker with more strong Motörhead vibes and an energy which never really lets up. This is not as rollocking and as a rock and roll as some of the band's more up-tempo pieces, though, with the faster end of bands like Saint Vitus also referenced here. The guitar riffing is much doomier this time despite the pace and the bellowing of Ward is ever-present - with very few gaps between his vocal lines once he starts singing to allow for any sort of musical flourishes. Despite this, though, there is another excellent solo from Hoare - which is set just against the bass to allow the fuzzy and screaming notes to be pushed to the fore, as well as to change up the pace somewhat. Much of the rest of the song is heavier, so this solo is a welcome breather - and another slight hark back to the early days. The album then comes to a close with End of Transmission, a mid-paced piece which really lumbers thanks to a stoner riff and a pounding drum pattern from Turner. This is when the song gets going, though, as it does start off with a little guitar-led instrumental workout which features some laid back guitar leads, which are repeated again later in the song, before the aforementioned big riff kicks in. Like a few other pieces here, then, the song generally sits back on a mid-paced groove - and it is fitting that the album ends in such a way. There are a few twists and turns, though, such as a spooky clean guitar-led section later on in the track and a few vocal moments which feature some strange effects on Ward's voice. All of these tricks help the song to feel a little different from the other similar numbers here - but overall the mid-paced riffing and shout-along vocal style is very much just core Orange Goblin, so the album ends as it starts with the band doing what they do best. Given the length of time between albums, it is just great to hear Orange Goblin again - and on this album they sound fresh and really fired up. There is a lot of energy and plenty of grooves to be heard here - and the variety is surprising despite the uniform sound. There is a lot to like here and fans of the band will be pleased with this latest offering.

The album was released on 19th July 2024 via Peaceville Records. Below is the band's promotional video for The Fire at the Centre of the Earth Is Mine.