Goblin Hovel – ‘Whatever Keeps The Lights On’ (2022)
Rating: 8/10
Release: 22th October
Label: Independent / Bandcamp
Warning at Goblin Hovel everything is special.
Don’t expect happy folk metal like Korpiklaani, but musicians who do nothing like the others. The listener when he buys an album is challenged by the cover.
The latter are UFOs symbolizing the content that we will find inside (the one that concerns us today is no exception to the rule). We continue with the stage outfits of the musicians and the taste for the band to release albums (eight already in 12 years of existence!), tons of singles and Eps and you will have understood that Americans love to confuse the cards of conformity .
This determined entity has an absolutely unique sense for wonderfully flowing melodies and music. To convince you, go and listen to the track “The Red Ones Go Faster” on the Bandcamp, which is a concentrate of everything Goblin Hovel can do.
What immediately marks when the pieces follow one another is the quintet’s propensity to vary rhythms, tempos and styles throughout its nine titles. The contribution of traditional instruments such as the Bouzouki, Whistles and Bodhran certainly have a lot to do with this kaleidoscope of influences.
Most of the tracks are accompanied by a very melodic approach, with flights that swirl through each song. The main promise is a delivery of that sweet cold and melodic folk metal base, immediately transporting the listener to mystical places and dark forests.
Along with the fast and aggressive parts, there are also plenty of mid-tempo moments and slower interludes, which help keep the listener hooked throughout the beat. Whenever solos and leads are used, they are done in a raw yet melodic style, with the music often capturing a slightly melancholy mood.
The production was carefully chosen, finding the right balance between a certain heaviness and a certain level of rawness. Nothing feels too polished or overly synthetic, but there’s enough punch and power to be won over.
Not knowing particularly Goblin Hovel through his past works “Whatever Keeps The Lights On” gives only one desire: to discover their complete discography.
Andhrímnir
Tracklist
- Pareidolia
- The Menace
- The Red Ones Go Faster
- Diary of a Teapot
- (How To) Start a Witch Hunt
- The Comedy of Forms
- Glass Sparrows
- Horrors of the Library
- The Recluse