ALBUM REVIEW: Pilgrims – Planet Of The Dead

Imagine an alternate timeline where MASTODON, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and NEUROSIS hijack Richard Branson’s spacecraft and set off to colonise a galaxy far, far away. Now, imagine how the tales they have to tell might sound on an intergalactic soundtrack to rival Star-Lord and his Guardians of the Galaxy? If you’re still struggling to sum it up, look no further than New Zealand’s PLANET OF THE DEAD to put the picture in your mind’s eye.

Last year’s debut Fear Of A Dead Planet went under the radar, whilst its sequel Pilgrims is sure to be a box office smash. Sure, they’re still serving up cosmic slabs of stoner-doom. And yeah, they’re still telling tales of sci-fi cult classics from the 80s and beyond. But everything’s bigger and better than before, a testament to their love of all things metal. 

The grass isn’t always greener on another planet, of course. Experiencing opener Gom Jabbar is like listening to Blood And Thunder-era MASTODON whilst drowning in the deep end of a swimming pool. Escape From Smith’s Grove lacks the gory grit it’s subject matter – the sanatorium that plays home to horror icon Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise – packs, resulting in the feeling you’re trudging through a swamp of sludge. 

It’s not that these songs are by any means bad, they’re simply lightyears away from the quality PLANET OF THE DEAD not only possess but showcase throughout the majority of Pilgrims. Interestingly, these are two of the tracks not featuring album-defining dual vocals. Whether it’s a slip in the song-writing or a blip in quality control, it’s a shame an otherwise stellar album of stoner goodness is slowed down.

When you’ve already nailed the art of sticking together doom-infused stoner rock jams on your debut, you’d be forgiven for churning out the same again on album number two. For the most part, PLANET OF THE DEAD are at their best when they’re doing just that. The title track bleeds out grooves like CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and CLUTCH got drunk and hooked up, whilst The Cursed Earth gives ANTHRAX a run for their money in the quest to craft the ultimate Judge Dredd anthem. However, there’s a handful of moments where they dive into new worlds that really work magic. The Sprawl see’s the band drift into proggy post-metal territories that owe as much to DREAM THEATER’s creative vastness as they do NEUROSIS‘ monolithic gargling, whilst closer The Great Wave caves in to the doomier depths of their influences, washing the track in a darker tone that delivers. 

Just like Fear Of A Dead Planet before it, Pilgrims truly excels in its ability to paint the worlds PLANET OF THE DEAD‘s lyrics take inspiration from. Jam-packed with cultural references from all of your favourite cult horror and sci-fi classics – Alien, Dune, Robocop etc. – the replayability is tenfold thanks to the easter eggs they trickle throughout. Whether you’re doubling down on their deep-dive distillation of Kurt Vonnegaut’s Slaughterhouse 5 (Pilgrim), discovering the real reason the USCSS Nostromo was destroyed in Alien (Nostromo), or dealing with the consequences of Robocop’s fourth directive (Directive IV), there’s so much here to take in.

Picking up where Fear Of A Dead Planet left off, Pilgrims is the stoner-rock soundtrack to your sci-fi dreams. It is yet another notch in PLANET OF THE DEAD’s futuristic belt, and as long as they keep delivering the goods, no one’s shooting their ship down. 

Rating: 8/10

Pilgrims is out now via self-release.

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