Garganjua – Through the Void.

When a band releases a 45 minute album with only 4 tracks on it, you should know what you are in for.

Ganganjua from Leicestershire are a band who somehow manages to be simultaneously serene and bone crushingly heavy. Like a lone Ice berg floating in North Atlantic waters, silently capable of sinking the unsinkable, each song has a wonderful sense of impending doom and melancholy. For existing fans there’s more of everything. Building on the foundations laid in their second release “A Voyage in Solitude”, but also expanding on what made it such a compelling listen. The clean vocals have been brought to the front with an emboldened delivery from Scott Taylor, though without sacrificing any of the gutturals that contrast them. It’s this juxtaposition that sums up what Garganjua offer; everything is so damn heavy and loud, but there’s also tenderness to what’s happening, it’s calming and crushing. Through the void isn’t an angry record, it’s morbid and dark.

It’s hard to explain without hitting cliché territory.

As someone who has grown up listening to high energy rock and metal, I was never the biggest fan of the Doom genre. So it’s always good hear something new and refreshing to pull you in. The songs may have long, lingering moments, but they change up throughout which kept me hooked in. I feel that there are some bands who drone on for the sake of it to pad out time. With Garganjua however, every section has its place and feels like part of the trip.

For an album of 10 minute songs it breezes by despite its slow pace.

There’s simplicity here, yet they still let you have more with each listen. There are riffs everywhere of course, you’d expect nothing less. But the leads are allowed to cut their own path, meandering through the doom and amongst the vocals. Again, the pure heaviness is accompanied gentle melodies to create a fine balancing act. You can feel each songs purpose when you take in the sum of its parts. Something I really appreciate in a band regardless of the genre.

If I were to pick out a highlight, I’d say the title track. Around the midway part of the song it breaks down into quiet, before embarking on a four and half minute build up into quite possibly the most monstrous riff they could muster to end on. When I saw it played live, the whole room were in unison as they followed the groove nodding in approval. It’s blessing then that the production (By Chris Fielding of Conan and Skyhammer Studios) captures the vibe of their live shows. Which is no mean feat even in this day and age of technology.

There’s an earthy vibe to Garganjua, one that will translate to the vinyl release they hope to bring out.

This is for those who like to Lie back, turn off the lights and play as loud as possible.

For fans of the genre, “Through the Void” really is a fantastic effort – 9/10.