Big Black

Orange Goblin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2000)
• Original Release Date: May 16, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Music Cartel
• ASIN: B00004SURN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,870 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Deluxe digitally remastered and expanded digipak reissue of this 2000 album from the British Stoner Metal band including bonus material. Rise Above. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Crunch Riff Rock ala Iommi, October 10, 2000

By 

Squirrel (burgkunstadt Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Black (Audio CD)

A breath of freshness long since missing. Heavy solid riffs, massive grooves and the vibe that makes it all jam. A needed album for any fan of Black Sabbath, Monster Magnet, Spirit Caravan, Cathedral, Spiritual Beggars...... This album rocks from the first riff to the last note.....get it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orange Goblin At Full Flight, June 23, 2007

By 

Tom Chase (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Black (Audio CD)

While "The Big Black" hardly re-invents the wheel in the realm of stoner rock, it is a sophisticated and undoubtedly fun blast, and has rightly become one of the most revered albums in the genre in recent years. It is something of a transition album for the band, echoing the spacey soundscapes of their early works, and moving towards the no-nonsense, more "metal" approach of later and more recent works (this year's release "Healing Through Fire" is a perfect example of this sound). For me, this makes it the most interesting and multi-faceted of their albums.

Of course all good stoner rock bands can execute big Sabbathian riffs, and Orange Goblin give perfect example to this, but what separates the best of the genre from the run-of-the-mill is song writing. Orange Goblin has an excellent understanding of composition and how to manipulate dynamics, shown instantly by the fine opener "Scorpionica". The song showcases the band's ability to create adrenaline-pumping gallops full of booming riffs, slick wah-pedal guitar solos and roaring John Garcia-esque vocals. It also slips into a grooving quieter middle section, slowing the tempo down and acting as a perfect contrast to the thick fuzzy heavy sections. Only the best of the stoner rock genre implement such refined writing. This approach is executed numerous times throughout, creating epic anthems such as "Hot Magic Red Planet", "King of Hornets" and the doom-laden groove of the title track, which instantly reminds me of heyday Electric Wizard.

Special mention has to go to the song "Cozmo Bozo" - for all massive Kyuss fans out there...this is about as good as it gets. This song sounds remarkably like a lost track from "Welcome To Sky Valley", fusing those sumptuous grooves, thick tones, raspy vocals and space-rock effects. The song completely blew me away upon first listen, and remains one of my favourite stoner rock/space rock anthems.

"The Big Black" can also boast the rare feat of having no filler, and therefore runs very smoothly from start to finish. Songs such as "Quincy The Pigboy" and "Turbo Effalunt" act as perfect injections of pace and flurry through no-nonsense onslaughts reminiscent of Unida's "Coping With The Urban Coyote" approach. These more aggressive and riff-fuelled songs are boosted by the production of the album, which puts great emphasis on the fuzzy guitar tones (a necessary thing for any band of this ilk) and the huge booming vocals. This is made without disregarding the drums completely, an easy and irritating mistake made by lesser contemporaries, as they are balanced just behind the guitars to keep groove and timing tight.

For fans of the stoner rock genre this is a must-have. It shines out as a trip back to the glory days of Sabbath and Kyuss. Vastly superior to the genre's fields of mediocre bands, Orange Goblin forge power and atmosphere with class.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavy. Very Heavy., August 30, 2000

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Black (Audio CD)

Stoner Rock, Fuzz Rock, Riff Rock, Cosmic Doom, Doom metal, acid/space Jam; call it what you will, it now represents the ultimate embodiement of everything truly heavy in contemporary music. Orange Goblin, one of such bands fortunate enough to receive some coverage in prominent British metal magazines like Kerrrang and Terrorizer, takes the premise originally conceived by pioneers like Kyuss, Sleep, Electric Wizard and The Atomic Bitchwax, and transforms it into something breathtaking. Their early albums permeated by trance, blues and elements of Funk, this release sees the band develop into a style that is much heavier than what went before, yet at the same time maintains their distinctive edge.