Goblinsmoker

Goblinsmoker was started as a one-man project in Durham in late 2016. The aim, to take the bleak atmosphere of black metal and combine it with the fuzz-soaked riff worship of doom, while creating a mythology that would be fully entwined in the band's sound, lyrical content and art.

The band focuses on telling the story of the Toad King, the discontented ruler of the goblins. Their forest home is a place where goblin subjects willingly sacrifice themselves to be smoked by their King. The full story is being told over a trilogy of releases.

With the concept born and the majority of the first instalment wrote, the band expanded into a two man show, bringing a drummer into the mix ready for the studio. At this point the duo were of the understanding that this was very much a labour of love, something that wouldn't be taken live or wouldn't be far reaching.

Having contacted Sludgelord Records a year prior with only the idea of the concept to offer, the band returned to the label with the finished first instalment, 'Toad King'. Sludgelord Records agreed to release 'Toad King' in late 2018. The cassette sold out in a matter of days off the back of a 20 second clip of music, becoming the label’s first sold-out release. Due to popular demand a second run was made, this selling out quicker than the first run.

The reception and response had been beyond anything that could have been expected. As a result, the band were offered several shows throughout the U.K. and decided to take the toad on the road. The band brought in a bass player and set about transferring the atmosphere from the record to the stage and establishing their live credentials.

The following year while playing live, Goblinsmoker set out writing the next part of the trilogy. 'A Throne in Haze, A World Ablaze' saw the Toad King and his army of goblins ride to war against his own kind, manipulated by the goblin shaman. Entering the studio in late 2019 the record was recorded and Goblinsmoker closed out the year playing Fall of Man festival in Munich, Germany.

2020 saw Goblinsmoker team up again with Sludgelord Records for the release of 'A Throne in Haze, A World Ablaze', released on the 7th of February of that year. In 2021 Goblinsmoker played live with Conan, and headlined London’s New Cross Inn and Fell Foot Wood.

Towards the end of 2021 the Toad King wrote to APF Records to invite us to release the result of those sessions. We were only ever going to say yes. The trio's first release on APF was the Sweet Paravoid EP, which appeared on 2nd September 2022.

In 2025 the Toad King trilogy came to an end with the release of The King's Eternal Throne on 25th July. The album marks the final chapter in Goblinsmoker’s crushing Toad King trilogy — a tale of doom, divine deception, and ritual vengeance. The story picks up as a scheming goblin shaman crowns the reluctant Toad King, uniting the goblin horde under a banner of worship. Fueled by sacred smoke and manipulated visions, the king leads his followers to overthrow the ruling toad class. “King by name, just a pawn.” 

But the shaman’s ambition doesn’t end there. In a world now ruled by goblins, why should a toad sit on the throne? The king is poisoned in secret, his body burned to ash, “Torched by the flame, returned to the earth.”

As the goblins prepare a ceremonial farewell, the sacred smoke reveals the truth to a few loyal followers: their divine leader was murdered. “Fever dream, showing truth.” Vowing to avenge him, they rise, ready to finish what the king began. “He must be avenged, they must stand for their king.” 

A fitting and ferocious conclusion, The King’s Eternal Throne delivers ritualistic doom steeped in myth and fire. The Toad King may be gone, but his smoke-shrouded legacy endures. 

Toad King, worship him.  

Line-up

• Adam Kennedy - guitars, vocals, bass
• Michael Guthrie - drums
• Calum Young - bass

Listen

Media