|
|
||||
|
||||
|
When you've got the word Goblin in your name, you're travelling with some pretty heavy company. First, there's the 70s prog band of that name. Have you heard the soundtrack from 'Suspiria?' They've got some pretty scary heavy prog going on there. Of course you know Orange Goblin, one of England's heaviest (and best) bands. So what does King Goblin have to offer? Well sir, these young Japanese are probably nutty enough to pull the whole name thing off. The first track, 'Devil's Formula,' is some heavy groovin' metal, with an emphasis on the metal. These guys are rooted in death metal but are moving slowly into doom and beyond. You'll hear Carcass and Brutal Truth in the mix, with bloody bits and pieces of King Crimson, Cathedral, and maybe some Atomic Rooster as well. And yes, they've heard of Goblin! The second track, 'Black Mountain (Birmingham Queen) starts off slow, ponderous, and doomy before hitting some sludge-heavy jamming, while 'RED RUM' is just plain weird, with the vocals used for sound effect purposes and the music going from free-form to Crimson. The music here is as tight as a hot-welded bolt covered in rust. The only problem I have is with the death/black guttural vocals, which could use a little work. All in all, a solid effort by a group that could easily tour with the mighty doom lords, Church of Misery. Now THAT would be mayhem! Contact: king_goblin666@yahoo.co.jp |
1. Devil's Formula 2. Black Mountain (Birmingham Queen) 3. RED RUM Approx. 20 minutes |
|||
| Reviewed by: : Kevin McHugh | ||||
|
||||
|
Japan's King Goblin are musical chameleons, changing their style every time they put out a disc. Last year's demo was heavy on the doom/death, with the last cut, 'Redrum' (hard to read that without saying it to yourself with the proper intonation, eh?) venturing into proggy mental breakdown territory like King Crimson gone terribly wrong. Their new demo is definitely less doomy than before, although their trademark black/death vomit vocals survive. This time the vocals are bouncing around on a crazy field of jazzy, quirky, proggy riffs, busy enough to seem fiendish at times. People who love a little King Crimson, Primus, or even Zappa with their metal will want to take note. This short n' sweet little disc confirms something that I suspected last year: These guys are driven by humour as well as a desire to experiment. I'd say that they're just plain insane, but insane people can't usually hold themselves together enough to play complex metal like this. Next time they're likely to put out anything from a death metal collection of Andrew W.K.'s greatest hit(s) to a Ramones tribute played backwards. |
1. Megalomaniacs 2. From Dusk 'til you Die Approx. 11 minutes |
|||
| Reviewed by: : Kevin McHugh | ||||