Goblin King - Blood, Drugs, And Death N' Roll EP

Tracklist:

1. Blood, Drugs, And Death N' Roll

2. Goblin King

3. 667

4. Eye Of The Storm

5. Death Sti-XXX

Death n' roll is one of those sub-genres that I've never really understood. I guess it's just another name for an offshoot of death metal, but it's come across as bit of a joke like psychobilly (another sub-genre I don't get). That being said, a lot of the bands that play death n' roll do name Entombed as an influence so it can't all be bad. This brings me onto new London quartet Goblin King and their very newly released (three days ago in fact!) debut EP. They're getting a decent amount of attention at the moment, especially for a band who're only a few months old, so I suppose I should find out what the fuss is about.

First thing’s first, this is a lot heavier than I was expecting. The title-track that kicks things off is fast and furious with plenty of riffs and a mix of growls and gang-vox. It’s catchy I’ll give em that. The song that shares it’s name with the band is equally as frenetic, but also more off-kilter. Goblin King throws in some stoner groove and solos amongst the tempo changes. Proving they don’t take themselves too seriously, they throw in a song called 667. It’s rousing to start with but switches into something more brooding later on. At this point, it’s feel like they’ve crossed over from parody to genuine and sound all the better for it. There are countless comparisons that can be made, but I’m going to leave them to your imagination because I don’t think it’s fair to name drop, as it takes something away from Goblin King themselves. The fact that the vocals throughout this EP are audible is great as well, especially on Eye Of The Storm, with it’s driving rhythm section leading from the front. Closing song Death Sti-XXX rounds out the EP with melody and a party atmosphere flowing through it. This is an enjoyable EP and thanks to Goblin King’s uncomplicated approach to their music, it’s momentum is strong. Good debut and future festival appearances are bound to come their way next year.

You can stream both "667" and "Eye Of The Storm" below via Goblin King's bandcamp page:-

The EP is available both digitally and on CD from their page too.

Goblin King - https://www.facebook.com/GoblinKingOfficial/