If you have had the privilege of ever seeing Greece's Planet Of Zeus play live you will already know that they are a real force to be reckoned with, the band have been no slouches in the studio either, the bands first three albums, "Eleven The Hard Way", "Macho Libre" and "Vigilante", are considered by many to be classics in their field, that field being heavy stoner metal and swaggering no quarter given hard rock. Now it would have been easy for Planet Of Zeus to follow up those three well received releases mentioned with an album that followed much the same musical formula but instead they gave us "Loyal To The Pack" an album that saw the band not quite jettisoning the raucousness of their previous sound but blending into that raucousness elements that were a little more subtle and restrained in order to create a sound that was a touch more rounded and accessible. 2018 saw Planet Of Zeus release "Live In Athens" a sprawling no holds barred eighteen song document of the bands appearance at Gagarin205, one of Athens's most historic live music venues, a true and honest representation of the bands unbridled power as a live concern. The bands next studio album, "Faith in Physics", saw Planet Of Zeus returning to the swaggering caustic sound of their first three albums while also getting a little political lyrically, musically still utilizing aspects of that restraint, subtlety and accessibility explored on "Loyal to the Pack" but twinning those aspects with much more in your face dynamics. History lesson over, the band have just released "Afterlife"(Ihaveadrum Records) their sixth studio album, will we get the caustic and raucous version of Planet Of Zeus that adorned those first three albums, will we get the more mature sound of the band a la "Loyal to the Pack" or will we get a blend of the two as with "Faith In Physics"....let's find out.
"Afterlife" kicks off with "Preview Of An Afterlife" a brief but interesting effect laden synthesised mood piece, that is quickly followed up by "Baptized In His Death" a groove heavy stoner/hard rock workout boasting an ear catching vocal melody framed by recurring guitar motifs underpinned by solid busy drumming, crunchy rhythm guitar and bouncy low bass, the songs cryptic lyrics loosely dealing with concepts of belief and faith. It's on to "Step On, Skin Off" next a stoner punk(ish) romp that sees guitarist/vocalist Babis Papanikolaou reverting to the caustic throat tearing hardcore tones we have come to love him for, admittedly not quite as deep and guttural as they once were but still wholly effective. "No Ordinary Life" has all the makings of of one of those great POZ live tunes that routinely sees fans going completely apeshit at their shows, the songs breakdown at the three quarter mark, before it re explodes for its caustic finale, may be old hat but boy does it work. For their next song, "The Song You Misunderstand", POZ add a splash of restrained bluesy southern rock colouring to their palette, a splash picked up by guitarist Selios Provis in his solo which is swirling and tasteful and perfectly supported by bassist Giannis Vrazos and drummer Serafeim Giannakopoulos' complimentary groove. "Let's Call It Even" has a Foo Fighter's feel about it, albeit the Foo Fighter's from an alternative universe while "Bad Milk" boasts a jerky off-piste alt-reggae-ish vibe. POZ go full on old school stoner for "Letter To A Newborn" but then dive headlong into a pool of alt-metal grunginess for the excellent "The Vixen". Having toyed with stoner, blues, southern rock, punk and off centred grunge/alt-metal POZ set their sights on doom for final number "State Of Non-Existence", only this is not by the numbers doom, this is a bluesy acid drenched version of doom offset with swirling torch-like dynamics, a big and beautiful curtain closer on what is yet another superb Planet of Zeus album.
© 2024 Frazer Jones
No comments:
Post a Comment