We get a lot of interesting music sent our way with requests for reviews and podcast opportunities lately and I’ll listen to all of it when I have the time to but this particular submission came to us by some form of black magic or perhaps by a simple carrier pigeon? At first I asked myself “What is this mysterious blackened hardcore?” then I began perusing through their bandcamp page while I continued to venture through their demo, I immediately noticed some amusing little quips like “TO THE GOBLIN YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A SIDE QUEST”. Their self written bio of their sound was also fuckin hilarious. 

“This is basically hardcore kids playing Joy Division riffs and shouting genuinely scary vocals over crawling D-Beat drums and distorting the everlasting hell out of it. Add dungeon synth interludes and lyrics along the lines of ‘STALK - PURSUE - TORMENT AND MURDA’ and you’ve got the gist.”

Alright so I’m hooked. I got the vibes that they’re just like Spy.. Ya know if Spy was like a spooky-Halloween-goblin-and-fantasy-themed band. Goblin Soap has been completing side quests in Germany in exchange for trinkets and souls for a while now and they’re looking to move some of their soap out of the country.. I think?

Sonically influenced by Cirith Ungol, Poison Ruin, Warthog, Exit Order, Gag and Poison Ruin and “any warhammer related thing”. Today we’re finding out how their mysterious lore began, where it’s heading and how the soap gets made.

HOW DO THE GOBLINS BREW THEIR MYTHICAL SONGS?

“Originally it started as a joke between Lukas and Reece, finding adverts for a soap in 1913 and how great a band named after that would be, very quickly after we got Marcel in, who wrote the riffs pretty much by himself over a few months in 2023. Those two then met a couple times to figure out the songs while Reece wrote lyrics and made the artwork back in Leipzig.”

HOW WAS YOUR RECORDING EXPEDITION?

“We all came down to Mannheim (the first time all three of us had been in a room together?) and spent two days in a youth center cellar, recording all intruments live on the first day, with our friend Flo jumping in on bass, and adding Reece's vocals on the second day. The synth parts were all recorded separately by the respective artists. Recorded by Nik Harbourt at Jugendhaus Vogelstang. 

Their tapes were released on 17.7. through their own labels Axle Steel Records and Cellar Door Records, a UK pressing with alternative artwork will be released on Hardcore For The Animals Records as well. ‘Goblin Offensive’ was mixed and mastered by Jason Frye at Century Audio in the UK.”

“If it’s hardcore and from the UK, chances are Jason is behind it. Jason has been involved somehow in most of Reece’s projects, so we knew we were in great hands.”

“MOST PROJECTS I’VE DONE HAVE BEEN VERY SERIOUS AND OR VERY BLEAK. THIS WAS THE CHANCE TO REALLY JUST BE A WARHAMMER FANTASY GEEK WITH MY FRIENDS. AS LONG AS WE’RE ALL LAUGHING AND HAVING FUN, WE’VE ACHIEVED EVERYTHING.”

- REECE @REECETHOMASART

“If people tag along and get into the gimmicks, that’s an awesome bonus. Of course we also carry our outspoken leftist/queer politics into everything, but I’m gonna do it in some dumb costume and dumb goblin lyrics.”

SO WHATS THE NEXT MAIN MISSION?

“Long-term, we'd love to keep writing songs and see where it takes us. A full LP diving deeper into the goblin world would be a great shout.”

ANY LAST WORDS BEFORE YOU DIE BY MY HANDS?

GOBLINS AGAINST TERFS!