The biggest announcement of 2024? Why, that’s UK doom giant Orange Goblin returning to Australia after a decade away, of course. Why’d you ask? This long-awaited tour is your opportunity to dust off the old combat boots, bust out the flannel, head to The Baso on Wednesday, 10 April, and stretch out those neck muscles. After chatting with vocalist Ben Ward, it was clear that, although Orange Goblin ain’t getting any younger, renewed enthusiasm abounds.
“This tour came about from constant pressure from fans!” Ben laughs. “Obviously, we were out of action for a few years due to COVID and Martyn [Millard, band co-founder] leaving. Touring as part of Soundwave was an incredible experience,” Ben says, reflecting on 2013’s last Australian jaunt. “But we never got to do our own headline shows. So we look forward to doing that for the first time. Australian fans have always been crazy enthusiastic.”
Said fans have further reason for crazed enthusiasm, with news that the band is raring to unleash a new album, their tenth, no less. Ben declares that the impending LP is set to be a significant part of the Orange Goblin legacy, with 2024 seemingly about carving out a fresh epoch.
As the band stares down the barrel of thirty years, a milestone not absent from Ben’s mind, their renewed enthusiasm is a joyous thing for fans to see.
“We’re still here and doing this because we never got ahead of ourselves,” Ben reflects. “We’ve never taken ourselves too seriously; we don’t have big egos. I think we are a damn good band, sure, but we had no aspirations of superstardom or touring the world in the early days. It was just four guys that wanted to get together. We were simply bored boys who wanted to start a band that catered to our musical taste.”
Thus, Orange Goblin was born.
It was a fortunate time for the band to head out into the scene; the UK in the mid-’90s enjoying a stoner rock boom.
We’re talking Electric Wizard, Cathedral, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride; the heavier end of the musical spectrum thrived. Soon, this fresh new sound was crafted by acts like Kyuss, Brant Bjork and Monster Magnet.
Fortuitously, Orange Goblin was selected as a reliable support whenever these bands came through town, propelling them ever upward.
“Lee Dorrian [Cathedral] was a big fan, showed us amazing support in those early days, and signed us to his record label,” Ben recalls. “We soon pumped out five albums! So we went from four bored kids on the dole to riding on a tour bus with our heroes touring Europe.
“And we still enjoy it. If a day comes when we don’t, we’ll stop and go annoy others.”
30 years On
Orange Goblin has grown over 30 years, experiencing unimaginable highs and punishing lows. In the spirit of looking back to move forward, we lovingly prod Ben to reflect on his time with the band, his own craft, and future-proofing OG.
“It has been a big learning curve,” Ben conveys. “I had no experience with the industry in the beginning; I didn’t know how it all worked. I thought it was one big piss-up and just having fun, and I didn’t take it too seriously.
“Looking back now, I would like to change how I went about things,” Ben admits. “I was out of control at times, and I can see how I embarrassed the record labels and disappointed people by turning up drunk to things. When you are young, you don’t consider those things.
“The world has changed so much in 30 years,” Ben continues. “When we started, we had to do it the hard way; sending demos and letters. There was no internet to spread the word.
“I think that instilled in us a lot of resilience, something many bands these days don’t have,” Ben proclaims. “I like to think that this is the reason for our longevity – our resilience. It’s a different world now but just as exciting.”
Exciting New Music
Speaking of exciting, the band have just wrapped up the makings of a new LP, with recording complete and mixing ongoing. Produced by Mike Exeter—an institution in the UK sound engineering world working with the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Heaven and Hell—the lads have been given a preview.
“Everyone says it, but it’s our strongest album so far,” Ben asserts. “The material sounds brilliant. That core Black Sabbath/ Motorhead influence is still there, yet there’s something different this time.
“The material is more mature – and vocally, for me, it’s my strongest performance to date,” Ben enthuses. “I’ve been sober for two years now, which has greatly benefited my health and what I can do with my voice. I’m really keen to hear what fans think of it.”
Aiding this feeling of renewal, Ben says, is the new album’s recording process.
“After 30 years of this, I think we’ve finally cracked it,” he enthuses. “It was a different recording process and the first time with Harry Armstrong on bass since Martyn left. Harry is a very accomplished musician – guitarist, keyboard player, powerful singer. Having him around helped us further raise our game.”
It is perhaps no surprise that Harry has been such a positive influence on the band. When the decision was made to leave the band, Martyn stated: ‘If I’m going to stand down, I want Harry to take the bass role.’
“Harry was the obvious choice; it was unanimous across the board,” Ben affirms. “Having been in and around the band since its inception and even contributing to vocals on the Big Black album, Orange Goblin knew precisely what they were getting with Harry.”
“Harry is one of us,” Ben continues. “He has fit right in, settled in nicely. And we were quite fortunate that the world shut down with COVID after Martyn left when we were set to do our 25th anniversary shows.”
The forced global break allowed Harry the opportunity to learn the songs and contribute his ideas and riffs to the new album.
“Once we finally got together to introduce him to the band, he had already hit the ground running,” Ben recalls. “It is still a group effort. The only difference was that the troupe raised their game because a new body was in the room.”
The album is the band’s first with Peaceville Records, a label that has shown a great interest in elevating the band to where many believe it should be, including Ben.
“The 2018 album was our last with Candlelight [Records], and we feel it was somewhat swept under the carpet,“ Ben discloses. “That irked us – so now that we have this campaign laid out with Peaceville, it’s exciting again.
“It has given the band a new lease on life. The band is enthusiastic, and you’ll hear that on the record and see that in the live shows. We feel refreshed and ready to go.”
Orange Goblin hit up The Baso on Wednesday, 10 April and are joined by Dr. Colossus and Astrodeath. Tix are $73.45 via Oztix; doors open at 7pm.
