The hotly-tipped Pelugion have long been on our radar, playing (among many others) sterling sets at Hard Rock Hell Metal and Mosh Against Cancer in the last couple of years. Making good on the promise that they have so consistently shown, the band have now earned themselves a coveted place on the New Blood stage at Bloodstock and, to celebrate, they have released I, a collection of the band’s recordings to date. For the uninitiated, it’s a perfect introduction to Pelugion and, for those in the know, it’s a great opportunity to gather together a selection of recordings that have previously only been available in a digital format.
Opening with ‘Monster’, Pelugion go straight for the jugular with groove-laden riffing, melodic vocals and typically elegant soloing. With elements of Black Label Society, Sabbath and Altar Bridge all present in the band’s DNA, ‘Monster’ is a cracking opener and a sure-fire live killer with its deft tempo shifts and catchy hooks. Initially sticking with the Sabbath vibe, the sludgy riff of ‘Bide my time’ gives way to a taut, stripped-down verse that sees the band flying down an imaginary highway on the back of a gasoline-guzzling super-bike. Andy Sweeney delivers a powerful vocal here, edging just enough grit into his performance to give the song bite without losing the all-important sense of melody. Things take a faster turn as the band blast into the full-bore rock of ‘desire’, a track that underscores the band’s unbridled ambition as they unleash an addictive hook from the get-go. As befits its title, ‘bane of humanity’ (also the single from the EP) sees the band at their scorched-earth best, Brandon Balou battering his kit with all the addled energy of Animal on a caffeine-high. Bringing in a tougher, thrash-infused edge, ‘bane of humanity’ is a definite highlight and it’s easy to imagine the smile on John Pittaway’s face as he laid this riff down in the studio.
It’s back to a more groove-infused approach with the southern-tinged ‘Remedy’, its chunky riff guaranteed to get necks snapping, and ‘bury me’ is similarly punishing riff-wise, although the vocals lack the assurance that Andy brings elsewhere (hardly surprising as the track is from the earliest set of recordings represented here). Also drawn from the 2015 session, ‘serpent’s mistress’ sees John revelling in his inner Zakk Wylde as he tosses out pinch harmonics with gleeful abandon over Brandon’s mid-tempo drums. The EP draws to an end with the tribal might of ‘believe’, an anthem that shows just how right the band were getting things even from the very start.
Inevitably, an EP drawn from a variety of sources will have a certain inconsistency in sound, and that’s the case here, with the 2015 material in particular somewhat quieter than the later recordings. However, this does not detract from the quality of the music on offer here and the eight tracks on offer not only serve as a great introduction to Pelugion, but also as an impressive overview of the band’s rapid evolution. Rock and metal fans living in the Midlands almost certainly know of the power of Pelugion, but ‘I’ is the perfect opportunity for the rest of the country to catch up. 8
