L.A.’s Gigantum announce themselves with six songs, but in 40 minutes.
All experienced musicians, this is the work of a fully-fledged group that is ready for anything.
But as for “Monkey King,” for all its doom-laden, Sabbath jamming on Fu Manchu chic, it’s a band that will do things on its own terms. Mia X is capable of whipping up a frenzy, and “For All My Friends” has something truly unsettling about it.
If the album as a whole feels like heavy psych and melody are engaged in a battle to the death, then never is that better shown than on the fabulous “Forever Dreaming.”
Chase Manhattan starts “Brain Haze” with a solo, and then the rest of the band clearly loves it too. Think Atomic Bitchwax and lose your mind. That vibe continues with “Rock Box” too, a screeching slice of fury that screams “Fun!”
The closing epic “Necron99” is also the most doomy. Yet somehow it evokes dystopian sci-fi too.
What’s more certain, though, is with this self-titled statement, Gigantum are laying down a big marker.
Rating: 8/10
