Review: Pryne – Gargantuan

Style: Stoner Metal, Sludge Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Mastodon (Remission era), Baroness, Mastodon (Leviathan era), Mastodon (Blood Mountain Era), Mastodon (Crack the Skye era), Mastodon (the other ones too)
Review by: Dave
Country: Austria
Release date: 12 April 2024

Humans love big things. In the United States, we have an entire state which prides itself on its ever-stretching grandeur; we are so moved by mountain ranges that they become associated with religious entities; and Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” speech never fails to move with its ability to radically shift our perspective on size. This, for me, is why stoner and sludge metal work so well: the choice of riffs and pacing work together magnificently to create a sense of crushing incomprehensible size. Pryne’s debut, Gargantuan, seeks to add to stoner and sludge metal’s repertoire of earth-shattering grooves, which begs the question: how gargantuan is Gargantuan?

The first thing to notice on Gargantuan is the generous Mastodon influence: from the first few riffs of “Can’-Ka No Rey,” Pryne make it known that they are a lover of all things Mastodon, shown through the mid-paced, mid-toned, crushingly heavy riffs accentuated by occasional harmonized vocals and a touch of progressive songwriting thrown in for good measure. One could easily describe it as “worship”, but don’t mistake this as a pejorative term, as the Mastodon songwriting approach is a workhorse formula that makes for an enjoyable listen. The aforementioned opener, “Ramification,” and “Cymboshia” hit hard with stoner metal riffs that trample the listener under hoof. The vocals are serviceable, occasionally piercing through the instrumentation in a satisfying way, and the drums and bass play along nicely, but the other instrumentation generally falls into the background as the main focus on Gargantuan is the guitar work, providing the backbone of interest and atmospheric heft across virtually every track. Occasionally, quieter yet pleasant acoustic sections make themselves known as well, such as on the interlude “Hollow Sea” and the idiosyncratic intro to “The Terrible End of the Yogi”.

Gargantuan is at its most exciting when it changes pace. While a mid-paced foundation is quintessential for Pryne’s style of metal, the occasional jump to a faster tempo cranks up the intensity even further, especially when bookended by riffs that make you want to jump into a volcano. “Ramification” maintains a quick clip throughout and “Abordan”’s mid-song speedup makes my blood boil in the best way. On the flip side, the slower moments of the strange and introspective “The Terrible End of the Yogi” add atmospheric variety and the slowed reprise at the end of “Cymboshia” feels like being trapped underneath a rockslide.

Despite the overall excellent execution here by Pryne, the album is missing a bit of variety. The aforementioned pace changes add lots of excitement in the moment, but could be utilized more often across the album. Moreover, despite the fact that virtually every song has at least a couple interesting riffs, sometimes Pryne play it a little too safe, like on the opener “Can’-Ka No Rey,” which begins very strong but loses its teeth by the end. One secret ingredient that makes the Mastodon formula work so well is its mix of theatricality and weirdness: they are unafraid to just get weird with it sometimes (see: “Bladecatcher” from Blood Mountain), and that weirdness is often accompanied by cinematic moments that hammer home the feeling of hugeness.

For a debut, Gargantuan does an excellent job executing the basics of stoner/sludge metal, showcasing plenty of delicious and heavy riffs that are taken to the next level by tasteful speed changes. With a bit more eagerness to experiment in a way that augments the hugeness and drama inherent in this style of stoner/sludge, Pryne could easily establish themselves as prominent figures in the genre. Overall, Gargantuan pushes the tides in Pryne’s favor, but fully encompassing this style is currently a bit more than they could chew.

Recommended tracks: Cymboshia, Abordan, Ramification
You may also like: Vokonis, Cobra the Impaler, Howling Giant/Sergeant Thunderhoof
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives | RateYourMusic

Label: StoneFree Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Pryne is:
– Christoph Grasser
– Roland Grasser
– Manuel Schober
– Patrick Windischbauer