Cherry Red Records [Release date 20.08.21]

This expanded Orange Goblin compilation centres on their 2007 Disaster Album, Healing Through Fire. Only a Heavy Metal band could take The Great Fire Of London and the Great Plague as the theme for its musical whimsy.

It was the band’s sixth album, and it saw them move away from the Stoner Rock and Doom Metal of earlier offerings, to a heavy rock/metal sound that suggested they had not yet landed at their final destination.

‘Cities Of Frost’ and ‘Ale House Braves’ confirmed our suspicions that one foot was still firmly stuck in the Stoner camp, but opener, ‘The Ballad Of Solomon Eagle’ and ‘Beginners Guide To Suicide’ are testament to the power of taut, tense writing and growling, grinding heavy metal.

Disc One includes seven bonus tracks. Four were taken from a Radio One Rock Show in 2007. Two, naturally, were from Healing… Of the others, the powerful, hard hitting ‘Scorpionica’ came from the breakthrough album ‘The Big Black’, and pumped up stoner classic, ‘Blue Snow’ from the band’s second release, Time Traveller Blues.

The bonuses are rounded out by three demos. Of those, ‘They Come Back (Harvest Of Skulls)’ and ‘…Solomon Eagle’ are worthy additions. Both are way heavier and harder than the finished album versions.

A year before, the band played London’s The Mean Fiddler to a raucous, sellout crowd. The full 11 track live set, previously only available on DVD, occupies Disc Two.

Healing Through Fire was not yet released, so only a couple of tracks got an airing. It didn’t matter, nearly every song took the roof off. Makes you wonder why the sheer visceral thrill of a band’s live performance cannot be captured by a good producer and some decent audio equipment in the studio.

‘Quincy The Pig Boy’ and ‘Hot Magic, Red Planet’ have genuine emotional weight, skillfully handled by a band who can swagger and rage on stage with the best of them. ‘Scorpionica’ again proves to be the perfect set closer.  ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

---

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

---

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

---

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)

---

---

Popular (last 10 days)

---