Customer Reviews

Big Black

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Orange Goblin are the definitive sound - and the physical embodiment - of what heavy metal should be. Sporting crushing Sabathian riffs and with more hooks than a strip of Velcro, the Big Black is the London band's third major label release and proves to be their most accomplished album to date. Kicking off with the excellent "Scorpionica", this album grabs you by the scruff of the neck and hurls you headlong into a wall of mind melting bass guitar and pounding drums, subtly shifting at times from neck wrenching metal to moments of sublime mellowness - as can be heard in "Hot Magic, Red Planet", "Cozmo Bozo" and, in particular, "You'll Never Get To The Moon In That". While the fast guitar work in "Turbo Effalunt (Elephant)", "Quincy The Pigboy" and "Alcofuel" picks up the pace of the album even further, the real highlight comes in the form of the awesomely powerful "King Of The Hornets" and "The Big Black" - where massive guitars and fantastic lyrics from gruff voiced Ben Ward abound. There's no trends being adopted here, no bandwagon being jumped on - just pure unrelenting sonic bombardment by the best metal band that the UK has produced since Motorhead. Play LOUD, play VERY LOUD. Oh and watch out for the drunken answerphone messages tagged onto the end of the album - hilarious.

Where their labelmates Sheavy and Electric Wizard are Black Sabbath with fewer memorable riffs, England's Orange Goblin are Black Sabbath with wah-wah pedals and an expanded psychedelic range. Thrust into majestic 3D sound by producer Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis), "The Big Black" finds Orange Goblin ripping through 10 tracks of outer-space boogie metal, the quartet's always-obvious influence gauge registering everything from Sabbath to Rainbow to Iron Butterfly. Tracks such as "Cozmo Bozo" and "King of the Hornets" could've benefited from tighter editing, as their extended-dope-jam nature upsets the album's riff-to-song ratio. But in "The Big Black"'s more concise tracks, Orange Goblin embody stoner metal at its most gloriously dumb: Their riffs are white-hot, their grooves are gigantic, and their spaceman fantasies are several atmospheric layers over the top.

This is music that gleefully recalls the heaviest of the heavy music of the late '60's and early '70's, especially Blue Cheer's early stuff and of course, Black Sabbath but also appeals to those who may prefer the metal of latter years. It's not possible to discuss Orange Goblin and not draw comparisons to Kyuss and maybe Electric Wizard, either.
"Big Black" combines thick, I mean really thick guitar hooks and the old wah pedal, thus creating a heavy style that manages to reference Sabbath, whom they cover on this album with newer stoner outfits like Kyuss and Electric Wizard. However, Orange Goblin can write real songs and hooks you can remember. Vocals are sung, not grunted or screeched and tempos swing, as opposed to endless blast beats that destroy any sense of rhythm as in the case of way too many metal bands today.
Dig the space chick on the front cover and then slap on "Big Black" and try not to headbang. Betcha you can't do it. I'm ordering a lot more from this great outfit, as they're not well stocked in the stores where I live. Too bad, because they, along with Red Fang, should be huge. What a great bill that would be for a tour.

This album is not so good as their first 2 albums and especially the second : Time Travelling blues. They follow the same formula : BLack Sabbath - Spiritual Beggars and Kyuss old school (even the production makes it sound like 80s music. This is not bad, but there are not so good melodies or riffs to make you like this album. I really cant understand how some people think this is an album they they like or worse love!. Its a tottal average album.

i feel that this is one of their BETTER albums.more straight forward riff-salad with plenty of groove.
again,more straight forward and i think that it works in their favor.this album would be a great starting point for the uninitiated.....peace.

A very good album by any means, but compaired to their prior work, it's not quite as good. This album has less solo's, however they are replaced with some very cool wha effects on some tracks, defantaly worth a purchace

...not quite as interesting as "Time Travelling Blues" or "Frequencies From Planet Ten". This album isn't as "spacey" sounding as their previous efforts, but it does have some very good moments, and plenty of heavy guitar riffs and effects. I for one, mourn the omission of the keyboards on this outing. The better tracks are; "Scorpionica", "Hot Magic, Red Planet", "Cozmo Bozo", and the title track. Still a good album, though. If you like the goblins, you'll certainly enjoy this one...