Album Review: Goblinsmoker - The King's Eternal Throne
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
I had waited a few years to see this trio live, and last year at Riffolution Festival, they blew me away with their slow and low intensity, immersing us all in the menacing world of the Toad King. They have quite a unique sound, and when I saw this release, I instantly grabbed it and waited to listen to the next chapter of their journey.
“The King’s Eternal Throne” is the final part of the Toad King Trilogy, and the earlier released single, “Shamanic Rites” opens the album, returning us to the atmospheric darkened land. And when that bass hits, oh boy, does it hit hard. I can feel my body shaking as I’m sat typing this. With Adam Kennedy covering vocals, guitar and bass, he does an excellent job and delivers a stellar performance, as does Michael Guthrie on drums, and between them they have created a shadowy mythical universe, that we are all invited to.
It's a punishing opening track, at nearly 9 minutes long, it keeps you interested each second. The riffs flow effortlessly throughout, and with that eerie background noise, that also ends the track, you daren’t leave, as you fear that the King’s army of goblins may haunt your nightmares. “Burn Him” begins with some feedback before that evil sounding bass, pummels your brain and off they go again. They’ve somehow concocted a song that sounds even more intense and scary than the previous one. It has that powerful and heavy-duty ferocity spread across the composition before the tempo changes slightly two thirds of the way through, feeling almost upbeat for this band, as it zips along, with plenty of chord changes.
The album title track finishes off the triumvirate of new songs and has that now familiar spooky essence before they batter you into submission with a riff that feels like it’s from the Earth’s core, covered in hot, molten lava. There’s no let-up in their vigour, except for a guitar part midway through, that adds more to the song that I anticipated it would. It leads to a change of direction, before being dragged back, kicking and screaming, as the guitars go crazy and the vocals increase their magnitude.
There’s a fluid potency to these songs, and they’ve attacked them with great endeavour, and produced a sound that is undeniably Goblinsmoker. They have included a 4th track, a special dungeon synth reworking of “Toad King” which is interesting to hear, as it gives a new angle to the original, but it’s the new songs that steal the show on this release.
