Our regular run-down of as many of the Bloodstock bands as we can get to talk to us! Goblinsmoker play the EMP stage on the Sunday…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from Durham, in the North East of England.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
The band started out as a solo project in 2017 before fleshing out into a full band out releasing our first record in 2018.
Where does the name of the band come from?
We are super concept-heavy, using our releases to tell the story of the Toad King. He is the king of the goblins and the ruler of the Goblin Forest. The goblins sacrifice themselves to their king, allowing him to smoke them and free his mind for his discontent with the world around him. He is the smoker of goblins, he is Goblinsmoker.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Big fuzz-soaked riff-worship doom, with the seething bleakness and atmospherics of black metal. Wrapped up together while telling the fantastical tale of a goblin-smoking toad.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
We like to try and bring a bit of the Toad King’s world best we can. Building an all-encoming aesthetic through the use of lights, smoke and between song ambience. A recent live review of our set at Desertfest commented the euphoric nature the set took on…so worst case, we’re a good time.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
We have! We have absolutely loved our time at Bloodstock, such a good, easy-going, welcoming vibe so it’s super special to be back there playing it.
If you like what we do, consider ing us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?
I was at work when I saw the email come through. I didn’t quite know how to react. Quite surreal seeing something you have dreamt about be there, being offered to you. I think I just sat and sat shaking with joy for a few minutes while I processed it.
What sort of setlist can we expect?
Well, being a doom band, our songs are a little on the long side so it’s going to be a squeeze. For Bloodstock we are going to stick with the start of our story and play the first part of the Toad King trilogy in full.
Stage times haven’t been announced yet, so which other band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?
Lucky for us, a lot of bands we want to see are sharing the stage with us on Sunday. It’s great to have so many friends playing, even more so on the same day. Thankfully we can’t clash with those. Big one for us on Sunday however is Satyricon.
What are you working on at the moment?
We actually have our new release, the third instalment of the Toad King trilogy coming out later this year which we have just recorded. Being able to play Bloodstock then follow that up with a new release is nice. In truth, we’re coming from a position where we never expected to play live or have any great number of people hear our stuff. So everything we get to experience is super humbling and we’re extremely grateful for. We also have a beer we recently brewed with Black Iris Brewing due for release around the time we are playing Bloodstock.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We played a festival in Manchester earlier this year, and due to us having the concept centring around the Toad King, someone turned up with a toad mask. I looking down in the middle of playing a song and seeing this guy banging his head in this mask. I nearly exploded. Later on at that fest, the guy grabbed me, stuck the mask on me and lifted me onto the stage to stage dive in it. So much fun.
What drink do you throw back to get yourself fired up before going on stage?
Well, as I say we’ve just brewed our own beer. Being big fans of big hoppy beer, can never fail with that. However usually prefer a spirt before playing, a little less volume before jumping on stage. So you can usually find me throwing a few stage confidence-building rums down before heading up.
Don’t fancy Patreon? Buy us a one-off beverage!
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