Orange Goblin Announce Plans to Retire, Maybe-Last Shows
If this is really it for Orange Goblin — and my hope is that 2025 is their retirement run like Ozzy Osbourne did ‘No More Tours’ that time in the early ’90s — then there are few in metal of any genre who could stand up to their run of 30 years, 10 albums (and none suck), and a path of devastation that has flattened the world over. It’s sad to think that I might already have seen the band for the last time I will — though they were great, Freak Valley ’23 (review here), so no complaints — but they don’t owe anybody anything, and they leave open the possibility of coming back for more. Maybe five years from now everybody’s really happy Orange Goblin announce a tour? You can’t blame them for wanting to take some time. It’s been 30 years.
Congratulations on the anniversary and (not that they need me to say it but) job well done to Orange Goblin. If you caught their 10th and maybe final album, Science, Not Fiction (review here), last year, you know they’re going out on top of their game, should in fact they be ‘going out’ in a permanent way at all, the thought of which gives me what apparently in first-grade social-emotional learning they call “big feelings.”
Orange Goblin traditionally end the year with a holiday run, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve saved a blowout for this December, last time and all. I’ll keep an eye, but their statement from socials does hint at more “in the pipeline.” To wit:
**30 YEARS OF ORANGE GOBLIN….AND THAT’S ALL FOLKS!**
As Orange Goblin enters its 30th year of existence, we have made the collective decision that 2025 will be our last. Maybe not forever and who knows what could be possible further down the line. It’s been a wild 30 years and we have had some incredible experiences and are left with magical memories. For that we are all truly grateful. We started the band with no real preconception of what it eventually became, we started as bored teenagers with a mutual love of Heavy Metal, Classic Rock and Punk Rock. We feel very fortunate that we have been able to travel all over the world, numerous times, and have made a network of friends all around the globe. We are proud of everything we have accomplished together, we’ve always maintained a DIY ethic and done things our own way and on our terms. We have never compromised to fit into any specific scene and we feel we leave a very strong legacy of 10 studio albums, each one a milestone that marks exactly where we were at each point of our journey. Of this, we are fiercely proud. It’s not been an easy decision for any of us, we have all given 30 years of our lives to this incredible band, but we feel that now is the right time for us to focus our attention on our families and other interests outside the band. We will of course be honouring all the shows and festivals we currently have planned for 2025, as well as a few other things that we have in the pipeline, but these could be your last chance to catch Orange Goblin live!
We would like to express our gratitude to every single person that has made this possible for us, there are far too many to name personally, but especially to our wives and children that have supported us no matter what, our former band mates, Martyn and Pete, the current and former road crew that have kept the show on the road for so long, despite us never making things easy for them. But last and by no means least, we thank you, the Orange Goblin fans that have been the bedrock of everything for us. Nothing we have done would’ve been possible without the fans that have bought the albums, the merchandise, the show tickets and ALWAYS showed us and made us feel just how appreciated we are. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts……….
– Ben, Joe, Chris & Harry
Orange Fuckin’ Goblin Baby!
End of transmission. 1995-2025.
Orange Goblin – Final Shows 2025
07.03 Thessaloniki GR
08.03 Athens GR
09.03 Sofia BG
24.05 Baltimore US
13.06 Into the Grave, NL
19.06 Hellfest, FR
31.07 Rockstadt Extreme, RO
02.08 Wacken, DE
03.08 Sylak Open Air, FR
06.08 Brutal Assault, FR
08.08 Bloodstock, UK
15.08 Frantic Fest, IT
05.09 Summer Dying Loud, PL
Orange Goblin is:
Ben Ward – Vocals
Joe Hoare – Guitar
Harry Armstrong – Bass / Backing vocals
Christopher Turner – Drums
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This is the band that really kickstarted my interest into stoner and doom 20 some years ago. Thankful I got to see them a couple times and enjoy all ten albums.
THANK YOU ORANGE GOBLIN
How time flies, first saw them back in 99 supporting Unida!
As O.G. has so eloquently stated, “FUCK!” Hope they come back in a few years to rake in the “miss me?” cash. <3
These guys have been my stand by for so long. Always able to pop an Orange Goblin album on and reminisce about where I was in my life when it came out. They’re one of those bands that imprinted on my brain early on and I just never get tired of it. Cheers to one of the greats!
I have a special place in my heart for these guys. I went to see them a week after I buried my mother, when my head was spinning, and met the band before the show then had my mind melted back together by their set. They let me know that I could still smile and rock and roll, and everything was gunna be ok, at a moment I felt despair. That was the last show of their 10 year anniversary tour. Where has the 20 years gone?
Crazy news! I remember back in Feb 1999 (!) my girlfriend at the time and I dropped everything and flew to Netherlands. We saw Cathedral and OG play a set in Amsterdam and then in Tilburg. Amazing shows and got to talk to Ben then and when they played Portland years later. Love the guys and the tunes! They are the real deal.
Time Travelling Blues was my introduction – can’t think of one OG record that doesn’t rock; so glad I saw them come over for a little US jaunt what, 3 years ago now? That last, and in all likelihood now, 3rd & final time was my only gig of theirs I was present for. Big sober redux get on my end as they didn’t come across the pond much – understandably. There were not a lot of people in Reading that night and Ben had the flu if memory serves, but they gave 110%, always did – they should’ve played Philly instead but meh, I don’t book ’em, I just go.
Probably one of the last, pure ‘eavy fuckin’ metal bands, with a huge legacy, that aren’t a legacy act. 30 years and 10 records is amazing. The world would be far more quite without them keeping the riff fires in the irons.
I can’t even imagine my collection without making a new space every few years for another CD! Sober cheers, lads. Thank you!