CORROSION OF CONFORMITY

ORANGE GOBLIN

THE ENGINE ROOMS, SOUTHAMPTON

AC/DC’s If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) booms out of the sound speakers.

“We are orAnGe GoBLin! And we are here to party!” vocalist Ben Ward bellows. From dual guitars thunders the grimy first riff of Sons Of Salem.

The opening moments of Orange Goblin’s set are pure, noisy rock’n’roll excess, and the excitement refuses to die down once from then on. Sleazily emulating the bygone primes of Led Zeppelin and Motörhead, the London five-piece soar with constant ruckus and masterful manipulation of their crowd. They’re a tough act for Corrosion oF ConForMiTY to follow. And while Pepper Keenan’s troupe can’t match their predecessors’ interactivity, the strength of their abrasive anthems powers them through. Only three songs are lifted from the recent comeback album No Cross No Crown, making this a night dominated by 90s stoner classics for the long-time COC loyalists. Trudging favourites like Vote With A Bullet, Albatross and Clean My Wounds work Southampton’s Engine Rooms into an especially volatile frenzy, each boasting crushing chords and rhythms that invoke gnarly headbanging en masse.

MATT MILLS