Orange Goblin @ Kentish Town Forum 17/12/25 with Grand Magus/Urne

Early on in their career Urne had the pleasure of being taken out on the road with Orange Goblin. Now, as a band the torch of British Heavy Metal is being handed to, they have the honour of opening the final show for Orange Goblin. Fans are already jumping around the pit and singing along to favourites. They end their set with the crushing Harken the Waves which even without Troy Sanders leaves an immeasurable impact.

Grand Magus are also a band that owe part of their reputation to their early tours with Orange Goblin are a fitting support. They plough through their Doom Metal back catalogue hitting songs such as Like the Oar Strikes the Water and Hammer of the North which ends with the audience continuing to chant the melody long after the set is ended, and the onstage pictures have been taken.

For 30 odd years Orange Goblin have been banging out the hits, changing their sound, lineup changes and quitting their day jobs to do the band full time. They’ve embarked on lengthy tours and played festivals. A routine annual ritual is attending the Orange Goblin hometown Xmas gigs. They used to be at the Underworld before moving onto bigger venues and now playing their final show, final Xmas show at a packed out Kentish Town Forum. They dive straight into their set with Solarisphere and Sarumans Wish. 

They try to cram as much as they can from across ten albums but most of the hits come from Time Travelling Blues, the Big Black and Euology for the Damned. Black Egg from 2004’s Thieving from the House God gets its live debut as the deepest cut of the night, and a cover of Black Sabbath’s Into the Void sends heads banging. Ex-bassist Martin Millard (who left in 2021 and replaced by Harry Armstrong) joins the band for Blue Snow. Theres a nod to their former selves as Our Haunted Kingdom who originally released Aquatic Fanatic before changing their name to legends they have become. From the get go the pit is mess of chaotic bodies coming from all directions and never let’s up for OG classics Scorpionica, Made of Rats, The Fog, Quincy the Pigboy before finishing with final song of the final tour, Red Tide Rising. The ever towering presence of Ben Ward can be seen looking at the faces staring back him under the lights with immense pride as the band say their final goodbyes.

Bottom pic isn't mine, will source for credit