REVIEW: Goya - "Doomed Planet" (EP)

By: Jake Wallace

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 30/10/2016

Label: Opoponax Records

'Doomed Planet' is an EP executed with absolute ferocity. The first two leviathans are earth-splittingly heavy and the varying in styles is notable, with the dark acoustic elements in 'Sorrow' and the raging cover of Marilyn Manson's 'Dogma'. Goya are definitely not messing around and in times of a 'Doomed Planet', the title is very apt.

“Doomed Planet” CD//DD track listing:

1). Doomed Planet

2). Hood and Bone

3). Sorrow

4). Dogma (Cover)

The Review:

3-piece doom metal outfit Goya are back. Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, their new 4-track EP 'Doomed Planet' was released a few weeks back on October 30th via Opoponax Records. 2016 marks Goya's fifth year as a band and there is no slowing down from this absolute powerhouse of riffs.  

The first track on the EP happens to be the title track, 'Doomed Planet'. Goyahave went straight off the bat with a 9 minute track and they take no prisoners whatsoever. The main riff trudges along at a savagely slow pace and sounds like it has been dragged through the mud. The low end in this track is enough to shake your foundations and satisfy the lust for doom. There are also some spacey guitar sounds rearing their heads in the background which add another layer to the mental image of a Doomed Planet. The band have self-proclaimed themselves as being in the vein of Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard and Sleepand despite the cliché of these three being the trifecta of doom metal, you can absolutely hear the individual influences of each in the music. 

Track two 'Hoof and Bone' begins with more solid fuzzed out guitar and bass and the riff is as equally devastating as the first track. The beauty of doom metal is the simplicity and the power you can wield with some basic riff-work and this is a shining example of how it's done. This track has a lot more lead guitar work and Jeff Owens displays his skills in the opening couple minutes. As the track moves on, I can't help imagining this as the soundtrack to Hell itself. If Dante Alighieri was able to capture the terrors of Hell in writing, then this is definitely the auditory equivalent. The massive wall of sound continues and around the 7min mark we get some more fiery licks from Owens as he gives some balance to this low-end beast. The track ends as the riffs slow down to a crawling pace and disapparates into the hellish mist. 

'Sorrow' takes a slightly different approach to the previous two songs. Firstly, this one is only 2min 40secs as opposed to the 10min behemoths that came before. A ferociously fuzzed out riff is repeated with acoustic guitar playing alongside and when the bass kicks in as well there's a very obscure sound created. It is indeed dripping with 'Sorrow' hence the name and creates a very morbid atmosphere throughout.  

The final track on the EP is a cover of 'Dogma' by Marilyn Manson and again, it takes a different style to the previous songs. It's an absolute thrashing cover and the guitar tones far outweigh the tones used in the original, making it a fucking solid endeavour. If Goya had written the song first, Marilyn'shypothetical 'cover' would never have matched up.  

'Doomed Planet' is an EP executed with absolute ferocity. The first two leviathans are earth-splittingly heavy and the varying in styles is notable, with the dark acoustic elements in 'Sorrow' and the raging cover of Marilyn Manson's 'Dogma'. Goya are definitely not messing around and in times of a 'Doomed Planet', the title is very apt.

“Doomed Planet” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook