Orange Goblin return with new album The Wolf Bites Back

Orange Goblin
Orange Goblin

Orange Goblin have confirmed that their new studio album will arrive later this year.

The Wolf Bites Back was produced by Jaime Gomez Arellano and will be the band’s ninth record. It’s expected to be released in June via Candlelight/ Spinefarm Records, with a final date still to be revealed.

Orange Goblin frontman Ben Ward says: “We are very excited about this new album. The Wolf Bites Back is our strongest and most diverse collection of songs to date – it’s certainly a lot darker both musically and lyrically.

“It is still definitely a distinct Orange Goblin album but we have incorporated a lot more variation on this record and there are hints of Can, Captain Beyond, Wishbone Ash and The Stooges nestling amongst the obvious Sabbath and Motorhead influences.

“Lyrically I have explored everything from alien serial killers to zombie biker gangs, Buddhist warriors through to descendants of the Salem witches!”

Ward reports there was a concerted effort to ensure that the nine tracks would work live and says that’s resulted in “a more raw, stripped back feel – something that I feel has been lacking from good rock and metal in recent years.”

And he’s also confirmed that former Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell guests on the follow-up to 2014’s Back From The Abyss.

Ward continues: “Working with Jaime Gomez Arellano was really productive and a great experience, especially going back to tracking stuff to tape. I feel that he got the best out of all of us as musicians and songwriters and that really comes across in the songs. There is an air of confidence and experience.

“It was also a real honour for us to have Phil Campbell of Motorhead lending his hand to a couple of solos on there, too!”

The Wolf Bites Back cover art by Roland Scriver at Familiar Ink and the full tracklist will be revealed in due course, but Ward has announced some of the song titles are: Sons Of Salem, Ghosts Of The Primitives, Burn The Ships, Zeitgeist and Suicide Division.

Orange Goblin’s Ben Ward: "I fell into the crowd and pierced a hole in my arse"

Scott Munro
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Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.