Orange Goblin

History

Orange Goblin was originally formed in 1995 under the name Our Haunted Kingdom. The band released a split 7-inch single with Electric Wizard in 1996 on Rise Above Records before changing their name to Orange Goblin. The band's first three albums were in the stoner / doom genre but on 2002's Coup de Grace they began to add punk, doom metal and other influences to their sound.

Their first five releases were issued by Rise Above Records. Rhythm guitarist Pete O'Malley left the band in 2004 to pursue a career as an artist. On 16 December 2005 the group celebrated its tenth anniversary with a concert at the Underworld club in Camden also featuring Scissorfight and Blood Island Raiders. Their 2007 album Healing Through Fire was released on Mayan/Sanctuary Records. On 3 September 2008 the band announced that they had signed with Candlelight Records and were working on material for a new album with a September 2009 release date in mind.

It was then announced in May 2009 that "Songwriting for the new album is ongoing but looks very promising with the skeleton of four or five new songs already in place. Two rough working titles for the new songs include 'Red Tide Rising' and 'The Bishop's Wolf'." The band had earlier announced that it had postponed the recording sessions for the new album due to "unforeseen circumstances" and apologised to the fans assuring them that "it will be worth the wait". Twelve months later, in March 2010, a statement was issued by the band stating that while they were not necessarily never going to release a new album ever again, the prospective forthcoming album was to be postponed for the foreseeable future.

In mid-2010, the band's back catalog was reissued on Rise Above Records in digipack form.

In mid-December 2010 Orange Goblin celebrated their fifteenth anniversary with five shows in the UK culminating in their annual Christmas gig in London. Orange Goblin also performed at the 2011 Maryland Deathfest music festival in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States.

The band announced they would be recording new material in August 2011 on Ricky Gervais' XFM radio show. The results were released in February 2012 as A Eulogy for the Damned by Candlelight Records. The album earned the band critical acclaim, including being voted No.3 in Metal Hammer magazine's ‘Top Albums of 2012’. The same year the group was voted ‘Best Band’ by the readers of Terrorizer magazine. The band then embarked on a world tour in 2013, playing 161 shows across 28 different countries including a first trip to Australia to participate in the Soundwave Festival, 2 full North American tours and a 3 month tour around the UK and Europe.

On 12 March 2013 Orange Goblin released A Eulogy For The Fans: Orange Goblin Live 2012. The CD / DVD package included the band's complete performances at Bloodstock Festival on August 11, 2012 and Hellfest in France on June 15, 2012.

On 6 October 2014 the band released Back From The Abyss through Candlelight Records. It entered the UK album charts at No. 98.

In December 2015 the band undertook a 13-date 20th Anniversary UK Tour. Orange Goblin continued to play shows across Europe including 2016 gigs in France, Germany and England and February 2017 events in Holland and Finland.

In December 2016 frontman Ben Ward received national media coverage in the UK for setting up a JustGiving campaign aiming to raise money for the staff of music publisher TeamRock who were laid off when the company went into administration. As part of the fundraising effort Orange Goblin played a gig at the Black Heart in Camden, London on 5 January 2017 with all proceeds going to the campaign.

Orange Goblin are due to headline the annual two-day HRH Stoner vs. Doom Festival in Sheffield, UK on 1 October 2017.

Band members

Discography