Sludge/Doom Metal band GOBLINSMOKER formed in the UK in 2016, and previously released three EPs. “The King’s Eternal Throne” is their debut full-length, and it has four songs. “Shamanic Rties” is first; and eight-minute opus. The entrance is low and slow, and the fuzz from the guitar riff scratches at you, irritating your skin. Adding in the bass guitar to the mix, the sound is punishing. It’s riff based music, that’s for sure, and the riff isn’t anything new, but the power is noteworthy. The vocals are almost Black Metal in their approach, as opposed to the gutturals which often define the genre.

“Burn Him” is a slow, rumbling affair, with another crushing riff. It moves like the Ents for me (LOTR), trudging through the forest on their own time, but always with a purpose and end goal in mind. The vocals bring the track to life, adding in a razor cutting quality to the song. Rounding the half-way mark, the riff makes a shift to one with more get-up-and-go…one with more speed, and the sound is quite catchy. The title track is another beast…at just over eight minutes, and here we get a little experimentation at first with some creepy noises, but the familiar riff enters and carries the song forward. It’s a slow trudge from there, over as many different landscapes that you can imagine, before it reaches its destination.

“Toad King (Forest Synth Offering)” is the final song, and it’s much shorter, and moodier even. They use eerie synths to pull you into the “Alice in Wonderland” forest and feed you magic mushrooms until you are satiated. Overall, you gotta love a band who presents their music in a straightforward fashion, and without the hint of pretention, because you know what you are going to get. That is the case here with “The King’s Eternal Throne.”