Doom metal has become one of those catch-all terms used to encompass plodding and foreboding, riff-heavy music that nevertheless still possesses widespread appeal. On their fourth album, Masters of Space and Time, Canada’s five-man wrecking crew Gypsy Chief Goliath spreads its influences far and deep. There’s a nod to classic rock on “Low Cost of Living High,” as well as opener “City of Ghosts,” with vocalist Al Yeti Bones evoking Tom Petty on the verses and slipping into Eddie Vedder mode on the chorus. “Stranger Desires” and “Into the Sun” take on the psychedelic overtones of stoner metal, and “Crash N’ Burn” adheres more closely to the traditional doom template, as Bones spews phlegmy lyrics against a gnarly backdrop of grooves and grunge. Throughout these eight thick and thunderous songs, band members truly seem to be enjoying themselves—which makes Masters of Space and Time more fun to listen to than albums by some of Gypsy Chief Goliath’s myriad counterparts.
