|
ANCIENT REVIEW:
ORANGE GOBLIN AT CAMDEN UNDERWORLD, 14 JUNE 2001
To everyone who didn't go to see Orange Goblin at the Underworld (ie everyone except me & Iain) - I can only say - you missed out on what must be one of the best gigs EVER. That was fucking AMAZING. The best gig I've seen since Slayer, Fear Factory & Misery Loves Co. demolished Brixton Academy in July 1996.
It was again a case of "Who?" for the opening band, Sloth - and again I decided to check'em out. What greeted me inside was a very slow and very 'eavy wall of noise (as opposed to the very fast and very 'eavy wall of noise from the Dukes Of Nothing on Tuesday) - sounded a bit like Iron Monkey fronted by Pepper Keenan. They did speed up occasionally, but not much - it'd have spoiled everything. They rocked with a sound heavier than... no, I'm not going to use that analogy again, but it still applies. Plus their vocalist looks a bit like Ben Ward without actually being him...
My previous experience of Hangnail was one solitary track on "21st Century Media Blitz 2" - plus Harry Armstrong's guest appearance at Orange Goblin's set supporting Monster Magnet last year. Iain informed me they were an excellent live band. Too right. They were all pumped up & ready to go as Harry screamed something at us about "Do you like 'eavy fuckin' metal?" and ripped through the set with the kind of energy Slipknot can only dream of. The sound that sprung to mind was what would happen if Kyuss had been born and bred in London. Highlight was a new tune "Clouds In My Head" (I think) - off the new album of the same name, which (according to Harry) nobody can find anywhere... I think the distributors need a good kicking for this, cuz as soon as I see it I'll buy it. Talking of buying things, one thing Harry desperately needs buying for him is a toothbrush - I had a full frontal view up his gob for the whole set, & he's got more black teeth that Elizabeth I - but he's probably too stoned to notice...
And on to Orange Goblin. Let's face it, this was always going to be brilliant. "All Men Play On 10" - said Manowar - "Our amps go up to 11" - said Spinal Tap - "Fuck off, we go up to 12!" said Orange Goblin. They did. They're challenging Motörhead for the loudest band I've ever heard, but whereas nobody cares about anything new that Motörhead write today, OG wheeled out three new tunes and all of them went down a storm. I medically need to hear the new album as soon as it's off the press. In all, we had: "Turbo Effalunt", "Quincy The Pigboy", "Hot Magic, Red Planet", "Whiskey Leech" (new one), "Aquatic Fanatic", "Cozmo Gozo", "Monkey Panic" (new one), "King Of The Hornets", "Bad Blues" (new one), "The Man who Created Time", & after they headed off for a bit, "Blue Snow" & "Scorpionica" - all delivered by four very hairy blokes near the back of the stage making a thundering racket, and an even hairier and much taller bloke at the front, gurning, making metal signs and air-guitaring in front of us - telling us how great British 'Eavy Metal is, as if we didn't know... This is not just top banana, but an entire plantation of top bananas. I'm not going to try and find any fault with it... if I did, I could say there was no "Solarisphere"... but what's the point arguing with a band as good as this?
The whole night was three bands in what must be the best form of their lives - and all at the same time. It does not get better than this, and Judas Priest are going to have their work cut out to follow this... as is every other band at Graspop.
ORANGE FUCKIN' GOBLIN BABY!!!!!!!!
|
