At the risk of sounding flippant, now is an appropriate time for doom metal*. Don’t be fooled by Garganjua’s silly name; doom is a matter of perspective as much as speed, and their pairing of heft and melody in Toward the Sun makes it both overwhelming and optimistic, doubling down on both doom metal’s natural, atavistic twinning of heaviness and melody and more New Age, Yob–esque moments.
Going forward from this premise of doom being as much a matter of perspective as speed, several tracks – The New Sun, Light Bearer and parts of Controlling Waves – are actually quite pacey. This may seem counter–intuitive for a genre that’s always been known for oozing along, but despite this, overall the perspective remains melancholic. The songs push, pull and pay off at just the right crushing moment. With the average song length over eight minutes, momentum could have been an issue, but even when Garganjua slow it down, such as on Mire, it’s still enthalling, similar to the funereal pacing and dread of Ahab. The album has a thick, big sound throughout, with the two guitars allowing for melodies to counterpart some absolute anvils of riffs. This is very modern sounding doom.
The title begs the question, towards the light or towards annihilation? Doom – it’s a matter of perspective.
*This album actually came out in January, but, as stated, now seems like a good time.
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