Album Type: Full length
Date
Released:
11/05/2018
Label: Holy Roar
Records
“Through The Void” CD//DD//LP track listing
1.
Crushed Beneath the Tide
2.
Adrift
3.
Through the Void
Welcome to The Sludgelord! Presenting up to date news, reviews & interviews for riff addicts around the world. This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
Tuesday, 1 May 2018
ALBUM REVIEW: Garganjua, "Through The Void"
By: Ernesto
Aguilar
4. A Distant Shore
The Review:
English
progressive doom trio Garganjua came onto the scene not too long ago
with fresh paint on a time-honored sound, to much conversation. Garganjua
does a prog-infused stoner blend that is profoundly complex. While sounding
familiar, there are many elements that are largely unexampled – languid chords
that are more diverse than the standard stoner playbook, breakdowns that offer
expansive arrangements that are mirthlessly heavy, and song compositions with
three-part vocals that stay in a space where they manage to be long enough to
tell a story without feeling bloated and exasperating. The band's debut EP
"Trip Wizard" was well
received when it came out in 2014. The 2016 full length, "A Voyage in Solitude," saw growing
buzz for the young crew. The band closed out 2017 by announcing this four-song,
45-minute return.
"Crushed Beneath the Tide" launches
Garganjua's
newest. Its vibe is a forewarning of the forthcoming cuts, with a lingering
build and formidable bass assault by way of Gareth Owen. At 12 minutes, this is
an adventurous opener, but Garganjua keep your attention with a mix of
clean singing and rawer vocals. Later on, the lyrical divergence pays off quite
handsomely. "Adrift" relies
on power chords to set the scene, before cresting on a slab of drums courtesy
of Benjamin Weston, and devastating vocals. While shorter, it is one of the
better cuts off the release.
In
the title track, it becomes clear that Garganjua are a quartet that is trying to
submerge themselves into new places with its music. This song feels more
emotional and purposeful, a moody opening, into a clean and not-clean
crescendo, then rolling into a valley of guitars. The song is a small detour as
far as what Garganjua
normally does, and it is a welcome shift. Now three records in, the band seems
to be evolving in this regard. "Through
the Void" as a song goes into some progressive metal riffage and
pacing, for the better. As the track concludes, you have to appreciate Garganjua
for being willing to expand what you know of them.
The
album ends with "A Distant Shore,"
a more proggy conclusion of an engaging return. Here you will find the guitar
work by Scott Taylor and Gazz Chambers is at its finest, creating an atmosphere
that is vast and unfathomable. The first two cuts on this release are solidly
stoner through and through, but it's the last two tracks that prompts you to
consider what Garganjua
can mature into. "A Distant Shore
"Through The
Void"
is available here
