Orange Goblin Thieving From The Ho

Many wondered how Orange Goblin would cope as a four-piece following the departure of second guitar player Pete O'Malley, but, by making it sound like nothing has changed, the band's fifth album, 2004's Thieving from the House of God, answers that question with a perfunctory "just fine, thank you." Of course, as will be discussed shortly, this same "staying of the course" could also pose a problem. But first things first: except for retreating just a tad from the overt punk-metal of its predecessor, Coup de Grace, Thieving from the House of God retains the same, appropriately thick and meaty post-stoner rock crunch -- neither here nor there in terms of outright hard rock or heavy metal -- that Orange Goblin fans have come to expect. "Some You Win, Some You Lose" gets the ball rolling in promising fashion and the novelty of counterpoint vocals in the chorus; and ensuing hard rockers like "Hard Luck" and "Black Egg" each manage a few surprises between them -- be it in the former's clever