Have the new Lords of Doom arrived?
In 2007, on the shores of Sardinia, Italy, Lord Goblin (vocals) and Antares (bass guitar) teamed up, bonding over their mutual love for classic Heavy Metal and the darker vibes of old school Black Metal and Epic Metal. Inspired by acts like Primordial, Doomsword, and Immortal, they set out to forge their own sound, weathering line-up changes and a lack of live gigs with unwavering determination. Upon moving to the UK in 2014, they found stability with guitarist Mornar and drummer Athanor F.D.H. In 2016, they recorded “Path of Glory,” a digital single showcasing their unique perspective, featuring their original track and a rearranged version of Iron Maiden’s “Quest for Fire.” In 2021, they triumphed over obstacles with the release of “The Ordeal”, an EP encapsulating their journey. Notably, three of the four song lyrics were penned by Jason Ray Forbus. March 2024 marked a significant milestone with the digital release of “Lord Goblin” the band’s debut full-length album, that now is released on physical formats by No Remorse Records.
LINE-UP
Lord Goblin – Vocals
Mornar – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
Athanor F.D.H. – Drums
REVIEW
“Northern Skyline” began with an opening riff that reminded me more of CANDLEMASS than SABBATH, but the impending assault of blast beats quickly shifted that into uncharted territory for me. In fact, the vocals are very much reminiscent of WITHERFALL’s Joseph Michael. Going into this one, I expected something with a bit more doom and gloom, but it is much more inline with the previously mentioned WITHERFALL in terms of style. The melodic vocal stylings of the eponymous Lord Goblin (the guy) are an almost jarring contrast with the abrasive, yet harmonious, instrumentation of the rest of LORD GOBLIN (the band), and that somehow works. It shouldn’t but it does.
“The Wanderer”, again the aggressive instruments are a shock at first, with this track opening with a riff sequence that is straight-up black metal. Really love that old school horror movie styled organ in the background, it adds such atmosphere to the track. Ole Lordy himself hits several breathtaking high notes in this one that really seal it.
“The Oracle” opened with a brief spoken word piece amidst a thunderstorm. Here I found myself trying to pigeonhole LORD GOBLIN into a subgenre of sorts, and it definitely sits somewhere between doom metal and trad metal, but I don’t think it’s epic doom, but something else entirely. This was the longest track on the album at just over 8 minutes long, and as to be expected, was grandiose in scale and scope. I really dug the guitar work in this one a lot actually, lots of great melodies to be had.
“Freedom Rider” began what I’ll call the second half of the album, with a furious onslaught of that abrasive black metal styled riffage. Harsh blast beats and insanely fast picking that gave the song a bit dirtiness that I like in my metal, but around the halfway mark, some exquisitely dulcet leadwork began to seep in and gradually overpowered the opening salvo.
“Thunderous Smite” was effectively the “Rat Salad” of this album, being a drum solo at nearly 3 minutes in length. Not much to say here other than it was awesome to hear, drums always sound so nice when they’re on their own like this. The track seamlessly segues into…
“Lord of a Black Sun, pt. 1” was a certified banger for the ages. I don’t have a single nitpick with this one at all. Just pure metal goodness, chock full of great vocals, some smooth basslines and sick riffs. Such a gorgeous tempo shift near the 5 minute mark! I did find myself wondering why LORD GOBLIN chose to split it into two parts.
“Lord of a Black Sun, pt. 2” was exactly what one would expect; a continuation and conclusion to the previous track. Which once more makes me curious as to why it was split into two, as they’re definitely two parts to the same whole. The album concludes with a Rock Band approved Big Rock Ending and a final drum roll.
CONCLUSION
It’s rare that a doom or doom-adjacent release is what I would call “too short”, but I found myself wanting more of LORD GOBLIN by the end of their debut effort. I mean that in all of the best ways, as this album clocked in at -40 minutes, and I would’ve been okay with an additional song or two thrown in for good measure. As I mentioned above, sound-wise this is quite similar to WITHERFALL, and if you were a fan of their latest effort Sounds of the Forgotten, then definitely check out this one as well!
TheNWOTHM Score: 8/10
LORD GOBLIN‘s “Lord Goblin” releases on physical formats on 22/11/2024
>>>>!ORDER HERE!<<<<
The Nwothm 
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