ORANGE GOBLIN
The heavy metal heroes are looking to make their definitive statement
Zombie biker gangs! alien serial killers! Some kind of wolf! We took a trip to the studio to see how album number nine’s shaping up.
back from the
Abyss was the perfect title for Orange Goblin’s eighth studio effort. After all, it was the album that put the band back on the map following a period of uncertainty at the start of the decade and saw them play some of the biggest gigs of their career. Hammer catches up with their frontman and mountain of metal, Ben Ward, to see what we can expect of record number nine, and if they’re ready to plug the Sabbath-sized gap in the heavy metal scene…
last time round you Were making the jump to being a full-time band – how did that affect how you approached things?
“Unfortunately, it never worked out – we never made enough money to pay the bills. I think a lot of people wrote us off and wondered if that was it for us, but we wanted to make a statement that we’re still keen and as excited as we’ve ever been – even though we’re in our 40s and should know better! That’s why we’ve called the new record The Wolf Bites Back; the title is appropriate to us, and very heavy metal.”
the past four years have seen you guys play some pretty big stages – has that influenced the song Writing on the new record at all?
“We’ve had a fantastic few years, really. Off the back of Back From The Abyss we went around Europe with Saint Vitus, toured the United States with Down… we’ve done Download, Wacken and Resurrection Fest, and opened the main stage at Ozzfest in California – which was a real honour. We’ve not really given thought to writing new material in that time, but that always works better for us – we work best under pressure. Often the first thing you come up with is the best.”
What kind of lyrical themes Will you be exploring on the new album?
“It’s a bit darker than stuff I’ve written before – songtitles like Sons Of Salem, Ghost Of The Primitives, Burn The Ships, Zeitgeist and Suicide Division. It’s exciting to have a crack at writing about things that interest me, whether that be zombie biker gangs or alien serial killers. I’m not one to dabble with politics; I prefer to use my lyrics as a kind of escapism. That’s what all good rock’n’roll should do.” the last record had the song
the devil’s Whip, Which Was distinctly motörhead in its vibe. can We expect any more of that this time out? “That one is basically Ace Of
“This is going TO be
Darker than before”
Spades with different words, ha ha ha! This time we’ve got a song called Renegade, which was written almost as a tribute, because lemmy was a massive loss, but so too were ‘Philthy’ Animal Taylor and ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke. Its a homage to the classic three-piece line-up; for me, they’re probably the greatest band of all time. I was cheeky enough to ask
Phil Campbell to play a solo on the album and he’s agreed, which will help keep that spirit going.”
What do you think producer jaime gomez arellano has brought to the orange goblin sound?
“We’re really good friends with Gomez and he’s got a stellar CV. he did the recent Grave Pleasures and Paradise lost records, he’s done Cathedral, Ghost… the who’s who of success stories of the past five to 10 years. he’s also got all the old analogue tapes, so we’re recording it all organically – as opposed to the last record which was digital – which has lent the drums a warm, John Bonham-type feel. he can pick up on a band’s strong points and emphasise them… which is why I’ll probably be right down in the mix on the vocals!”
The WOlf biTeS back iS Due fOR ReleaSe in The SummeR via canDlelighT/ SpinefaRm RecORDS