The Pod is an Ambient/Drone/Doom/Metal Artist from Chapel Hill, USA
The member is Scott Endres
Scott Endres is a musician who I am a big fan of. He is the guitarist/vocalist for MAKE. A band we are very big fans here at the blog. Scott also releases music under his alter ego – The Pod – An ambient/drone/noise/post-rock/sludge like collective, which has received some acclaim of late. Especially with their last album - Assassins In The Mirrored Hall - which I reviewed earlier this year.
Well Scott aka The Pod is back with his stunning new album – Faded Memory From A Dying Sun. This is probably The Pod’s most creative work to date. The album could be classed as MAKE’s eagerly awaited new album though more electronic as Scott has included plenty of heavy Sludge based moments for MAKE fans to check out.
However, its primary function is to explore Scott’s musical vision through the power of sound and atmospherics. The album has a haunting and soothing atmosphere running through out. First track – Activated Charcoal – is a 3-minute plus track offering a brief glimpse on what to expect from the album. Ambient-based industrial noises matched with distorted vocals coming from another dimension.
2nd track – Going Home – is 5-minute sonic odyssey bringing more elements of music into forefront and leaving the listener slightly dazed and confused from what is going on. Scott is on majestic form here. He is relishing his role as a Sonic Wizard – weaving magical spells though these spells are the distorted notes, vibes and sounds he has expertly put together.
3rd track – 2:35 – is a brilliant cover version of the Spacemen 3 classic. This version shows Scott in fine angry form. His vocals screaming you though in digitized form. But you can still feel the anger and fury coming directly from Scott. The music is more restrained compared to the previous two tracks though you can still sense an uneasy truce between calm and noise. When the noise is finally unleashed, the track becomes something more organic and dangerous.
That’s how the album plays out for the remaining 6 songs. Noises and vocals combine to provide a nightmarish world distorted by fantasy and reality. You have to decide what is real and what is part of your imagination as this album has a strong hypnotic presence full of dream-like qualities that are very hard to resist. Especially on the excellent track, – Foil – which shows Scott at his most disturbing and most creative in equal measure.
Scott deserves credit for creating this thrilling world almost entirely on his own as he does have guest appearances from the following musicians. But other than that, Scott is in his element here. Faded Memory From A Dying Sun is a brilliant success on every level. If you’re a fan of Author and Punisher then you’re going to feel right at home here in this dark disturbing place, which Scott has created.
A bold and thrilling album from one of Sludge Metal’s most creative forces.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Thanks to Scott and Post-PR for sending me a copy to review. Faded Memory From A Dying Sun is available to buy now on Limited Edition CD/DD on BandCamp.
Check The Pod from links below
BandCamp
