At this stage in the game, nearly thirty years into their career, you’d expect Orange Goblin to have found their niche. But, on new album Science, Not Fiction, you still sense a certain wanderlust as the band roam the spaceways without really, fully committing to ‘the sound’. Indeed, they were more easily pigeonholeable at the end of the last century than they are now, as they drift ever further away from the comfortable ‘stoner metal’ tag they were best known for.

This is a good thing of course, and, let’s face it there aren’t any eighteen minute jazz/trap odysseys to be found here. No – the OG are still demonstrably, irredeemably metal, but would the Goblin of 1997 pulled off the swagger of second track (Not) Rocket Science? I don’t think they would.

Part of the reason for this is the presence of bassist Harry Armstrong; His predecessor Martin Millard was no slouch, being the heartbeat of the band, but Armstrong is a very accomplished musician and it’s his contribution sonically that points to the way the band appears to be enjoying something of a second creative wind. The growling sass with which he solos on … Science is a joy of Kilmisterish proportions, and he seems to have given the band a jolt and the confidence with which to get on and find themselves again.

Ben Ward is another key factor here; The vocalist seems finally to have found ‘his’ voice, or at least a voice with which he is totally comfortable and thus able to do his lyrics justice. I dunno, but traks like False Hope Diet and End of Transmission just seem to be the sweet spot this band has been looking for. Science, Not Fiction sounds very much like the work of a band that finally knows where it’s going but isn’t particularly in a hurry to get there now the target has been acquired. And I think we as fans are going to have a lot of fun going along for the ride over the next few albums to get to that destination…

Science, Not Fiction releases on January 19th.