“Death’n’roll” is the answer to the question: “What if Elvis was a metalhead and rather than shake his legendary pelvis, started moshpits?” Not a question often asked, to be fair, but we’re sure as hell glad that bands like Goblin King came along to answer it for us anyway. Marking their first foray in to the extreme metal scene, the London-based quartet will be releasing their debut EP, Blood, Drugs, & Death n Roll, early in August, an EP so packed full of grisly vocals and thundering guitar riffs that it’ll make you want to duck for cover.
The EP explodes into being with an avalanche of barbarity; harsh screams accompany hyper-quick drumbeats and massive, totally-encoming guitar riffs. The band then fall from the typically death metal style which introduces the EP, to a far more groovy, even-paced style, acting like a brief moment of calm before flaring back in to insanity in the chorus. Opening track “Blood, Drugs, & Death n Roll” acts as a demonstration of Goblin King’s capabilities as a band, their technical prowess, and ability to play together, something crucial for a new band to show off as quickly as possible. More to the point though, what this initial track does is prepare the listener for what’s to come throughout the rest of the EP, allowing them to brace themselves for an intense blast of brutality that’ll leave you butchered.
However, whilst “Blood, Drugs, & Death n Roll” might allude to what you might expect from the rest of the EP, each track still manages to sound entirely unique and of its own, not simply a copy of a copy. For example, “Goblin King” comes across as a dirty-sounding slosh of metal, something that’s instantly recognisable as a solo, heavily-distorted guitar brings in the track, sounding deliberately messy and angry. Following this is a continuation of the same general feeling; the throaty, harsh vocals slowly churn out the lyrics: “I am the goblin king, welcome to the land of death”, while the same distorted guitar keeps rhythm alongside the super low, super grim bass. “Goblin King” truly is a track which stands on its own, coming off as having an attitude that it doesn’t care what anyone thinks of it, that the band are playing the music they want to for them and no one else.
This is perhaps the most prominent theme from the EP; that Goblin King themselves are here to rock, and want you to rock with them. There is no pretentiousness or assumptions of higher meaning, these songs are here to be enjoyed, a throwback to a simpler time of metal, a time where you could listen to an album, bang your head, and not have to care what else is going on around you. For an intense burst of metal that is enjoyable on numerous levels, make sure to check out Blood, Drugs, & Death n Roll as soon as you can.
Blood, Drugs, & Death n Roll is out on the 10th of August and is available here.
