After the success of Make’s most recent album, and first for Accident Prone, ‘Pilgrimage Of Loathing’, label head Gary Bahen and Make frontman Scott Endres started conversations about a continued relationship, and possible a release by his solo project, The Pod. Citing influences from the likes of Gary Numan, Lungfish, Vangelis, Killing Joke, Godflesh, Aphex Twin, and even Casio keyboards, the self-titled debut is worlds away from the harsh and bombastic doom metal of Make, yet the album still possesses an atmospheric and mesmerizing quality. Encompassing elements of black metal, synthesizers, and sampled beats, the album is dark and twisted journey of highs and lows, dark and light. Says Endres, “The Pod is wholly personal. There are no messages but existential struggle, life and love lost, coping with depression… Coping with existence. It’s 100% a vehicle for me to work my own demons out, sometimes literally just making music or sounds to stay active and keep the darker thoughts away. The most active I’ve been with The Pod has been in my darkest hours.”
There are times when the melody being played on an Eighties synth is quite light and melodic, but there is always a darkness behind, just waiting for the light to fade away so that it can take over. Hypnotic, dark and menacing, it shows a side of electronic music that is rarely explored, combined with elements that one would expect more on a black metal release. This isn’t an album to be taken lightly, as it is designed to twist and mess with the listener’s brain and isn’t something that can be appreciated in the full light of day. Wait until the middle of the night, when all is dark and menacing, and only then will the full awful beauty of this become apparent.
