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Holy moly, what a blow...
I never expected such a wave to hit me, making that damn foot of mine move under the chair every second like only the bands from the golden years of rock could do...that malignant and rowdy groove that gives you no respite, you know what I mean? Well... Healing Through Fire is full of it.
The Orange Goblin now form, alongside bands like High on Fire, Grand Magus, Alabama Thunderpussy and their stoned company, the most important fringe of today's heavy scene.
Right from the start, the band's seismic intentions are clear, from the first track, "The ballad of Solomon Eagle", which would move even Goliath with its fierce and mighty advance. It continues with the more classic "Vagrant stomp", which with its Sabbathian riff and its vocals at the limit of the drunkest Lemmy, revives the glories of that seventies proto metal that belonged to Black Sabbath and their company.
"The ale house braves" is beautiful, reminiscent of the best Led Zeppelin, only with quite a bit more Marshall.
And here comes the first peak of the album: the splendid doom blow that answers to the name of "Cities of frost"... pachydermic and steamrolling, it would make the now lost-at-sea-in-acid Electric Wizard pale; the beautiful central lowering where everything falls into ceremonial darkness that's hard to emulate elsewhere, before the next devastating hit based on ultra-earthy and rocky riffs, and a finale that to call sludge is an understatement.
How can one not mention the subsequent fifth track, full of those seventies doom riffs and those sick and dark atmospheres that we love so much, and emotionally loaded to the extreme, or the beautiful acoustic "Mortlake" that breaks before the final blow where perhaps the highest peak touched by the Goblin so far is reached: the monumental "Beginners guide to suicide" (both for the sonic mass produced and for the duration compared to the other tracks)... just jaw-dropping the central part with that harmonica solo that feels very southern bringing them close to the old Alabama Thunderpussy (the new ones are now far from southern, and given the results one would say it’s for the best!).
Well, you’ve probably figured it out... this is an album soaked in sweat and mud, but also in heart and soul, exuding just the right dose of rock n'roll to make it a true must-have.
A whiskey, please...
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