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POD PEOPLE ‘Doom Saloon’ (Rise Above) (2004)
DJ’s, wake up!!! Why haven’t we heard any Pod People at the numerous (ahem) quality (ahem) Metal Pubs and clubs in the UK??? I must admit that the prospect of reviewing a band going by the name of ‘Pod People’ made me think I’d be listening to a musical version of Red Dwarf or Star Wars and so I wasn’t too tempted by the idea (although I love both these series in their non-musical forms), but I should have known better, as ‘Doom Saloon’, the full-length album by the band, was released on Rise Above records, the label which is a guarantee of quality of everything it takes under its wing.
‘Pod People’ were signed by the Band-Finder General when they were supporting Cathedral in Australia and they obviously doomed so hard that they had to be taken notice of!
In fact, listening to the opening track, ‘Filling The Void’, you could be happy that you had found a previously unreleased Cathedral track, but as time progresses, it becomes clear that Pod People are not clones of their label-master’s band - they have a style of their own. There are obvious Kyuss and Entombed influences here as well, but this is never a bad thing!
Yes, this is familiarly groovy, heavy doom, but somehow, the approach taken by these rocking Antipodeans stands out in the current Doom scene revival. I challenge you not to become obsessed with the riffs on ‘Filling The Void’, ‘The Missed’, ‘Roadblock’, ‘Hoovin’, ‘Look Beneath’ - need I carry on?
There is also something for the lovers of the slower variety, with ‘Subterranean’ clocking in at 10mins and giving a slightly more ‘sophisticated’ approach to the album. Although, I have to say that I have skipped the slower tracks to get back to the faster grooves, as it’s kind of hard for me to switch moods so quickly. Could we have a release with the fast and slow tracks in different sections, perhaps?
There is also a great instrumental track, ‘Ascend To Glamstonia’, which works well, but is no more complicated than the other songs of the album – this isn’t really complicated soloing music, after all! The lead singer’s vocals also need to be mentioned, as they expertly complement the package presented by these Doom-mongers: Brad is a great growler, and his voice is so thick you feel like you have to wade through it to get to the end of the song.
Pod People definitely need to be heard out there with the new generation of rock-‘n-roll Stoner and Doom bands that have recently dominated the underground pub scene, such as label-mates Orange Goblin and Grand Magus.
The only bad thing is that Australia is so far away. Maybe Mr Dorian could make it a condition of the band’s contract to re-locate to the home of Doom - after all, it is so much more gloomy here than down South. Whoever heard of feeling Doomy in Australia???
This is a strong album, allowing room for development and the production is also quite impressive. Greatly looking forward to their next release!
Review by Emily Dgebuadze
***½
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