Orange Goblin – “Sabbath Hex”

Ester Segarra

As I write this, I’m wearing thermal underwear beneath Dockers and a button-down work shirt. The evening’s forecast is for snow showers, freezing rain, and a tricky drive home. I’ve removed about half a foot of snow from my driveway before December even rolled around. In short, my Family Man (Winter Edition) lifestyle is a million miles away from the Mad Max/Sons of Anarchy fantasy peddled by Orange Goblin, the veteran English stoner/doom unit from London… But then, I can dream, can’t I?

If you understand
Raise your right hand
Repeat after me
We are stone free
(“Sabbath Hex”)

Orange Goblin’s latest album, Back From the Abyss, offers more of the thrashy biker rock that telegraphs its moves from ten yards away for which the band is cherished: crushing downtuned riffs, hoarse bar-band vocals, the occasional spooky section that conveys the ominous mood of a Frank Frazetta painting, etc. I could tell you things like, “The new album shows signs of improved songwriting,” but that’s beside the point. For middle-aged listeners like myself, this is functional music to motivate you through the solitary responsibilities of work, household, and season. Will I be listening to Back From the Abyss in a year’s time? Possibly not. Will it be a go-to soundtrack for an eminent winter of steering my tiny Chevy Prizm through icy, extended commutes? No doubt.

OG_Back From The Abyss

Back From The Abyss is out now on Candlelight Records.
Orange Goblin on tour w/ Down, Bl’ast, King Parrot:
12/03/2014 House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
12/05/2014 Riverside Municipal Auditorium – Riverside, CA
12/06/2014 Wiltern Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
12/07/2014 Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA
12/08/2014 The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
12/10/2014 Showbox at the Market – Seattle, WA
12/11/2014 Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
12/13/2014 Union Hall – Edmonton, AB
12/14/2014 Flames Central – Calgary, AB
12/15/2014 Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA
12/17/2014 Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
12/19/2014 Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
12/20/2014 Gas Monkey Live – Dallas, TX
12/21/2014 Warehouse Live – Houston, TX