Interview by Kris Peters
UK metal outfit Orange Goblin are a band who has had to work hard for everything they have. Bloody hard.
Formed in 1995 and born into a musical landscape already dominated by bands such as Black Sabbath, Trouble, Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Pentagram, Cathedral, Danzig, Monster Magnet and Kyuss, Orange Goblin spent many of their formative years deflecting criticism of their sound, defiant in the knowledge that while a sum of their many influences, they were also a force unto themselves.
Combining elements of hard rock, stoner rock, doom metal and more, comparisons to the legendary bands listed above were bound to be prominent, but over the course of nine previous albums Orange Goblin have left their indelible mark across the music world, in the process gaining the respect and level of acceptance they so rightfully deserve.
That growth and progression promises to continue on Orange Goblin's upcoming album Science, Not Fiction, which will be unleashed on July 19. Blending the aforementioned genres with some outside of the box, Science, Not Fiction is an aggressive, adrenaline-fuelled sonic journey of a band with one eye on the past but the focus firmly on the future.
HEAVY caught up with founding member and vocalist Ben Ward to find out more.
"This one's different," he measured. "Obviously, it's our first album for Peaceville Records and the whole campaign has been far more hands on than we've ever had before. In the past we might have just delivered the record to the label and said right, you get on with that, but with this record the label have been really proactive and enthusiastic in getting us to be involved in the marketing. It's been a really strong campaign. There's been three singles released so far and all had videos for them. We've got another video and single coming just prior to the release. We're doing some album launch shows here in London and Leeds in the UK and we've got a summer of festivals lined up to promote it. It's all go at the moment. We're definitely not sitting back and letting it happen. We're all very proactive."
In the full interview, Ben discussed Orange Goblin's upcoming album release more, including the musical influences, proactive marketing campaign, and impact of a new band member. He provided insights into the album concept, highlighting the significance of science, spirituality, and religion. The discussion also touched on the balance between imitation and inspiration in creating an album, with Ben emphasizing the band's commitment to creating music that is interesting to them and their belief in the importance of honesty in their music.