Jupiter Zeus are a 4-piece stoner rock meets psyche rock band hailing from Perth, Western Australia who formed in 2008. Formerly called ‘Nebula’, the new version of the band play a similar style of music – stoner rock grooves filled with layered guitars and hypnotic vocals creating an almost trippy effect, lending the psychedelic edge to their heavier take on the classic rock meets stoner rock style of playing which is becoming even more popular than ever these days. “On Earth” is their full length follow up to the “Green Mosquito EP”.
“Waves” opens the album. It has a distinct sound, the layered guitars are easily noticed and there is a subtle “Eastern vibe” to some of the lead lines, reminiscent of the sound Billy Duffy created on The Cult’s classic rock anthem ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ which provide a stark contrast to the droning rhythm and tight drum work. When mixed with the hauntingly hypnotic, sometimes chant-like vocals, it creeps in and takes your attention and it follows up almost seamlessly into the second track “Waves” which is filled with big riffs and grooves to match, very reminiscent of Kyuss.
“Cosmic Rays” has a more upbeat feel to it, with the Eastern cult styled vibe returning before the grunge-like “I am” follows, a more laid back number than the previous track with a few big riffs in the middle of the song but it just keeps the pace slow with a feeling similar to that of the Seattle Grunge sounds of the early 90’s. The hypnotic vocals continue and grow in intensity with the song as it progresses before it cuts out and one of the standout tracks of the album starts.
“Psychotic Seeds” is a groove laden track with a distinct sludgy feel to it. The Mammoth riffs crash down before the song speeds up to a more metal gallop with a blistering solo. “Talkback Caller” returns the album to its slower pace once again, it acts almost as a buffer before “Divinity” which brings back the intensity from “Psychotic Seeds” – the mammoth sounding riffs with the pounding drums turns the intensity of the album back up and the new pace continues into “The Sum Of” – a very grunge like number with a haunting middle section with layered clean and acoustic guitars which build the atmosphere. “Co-Creators” brings back the intense riffs and metal-like edge with a catchy hook and pounding drums which gives way to the eerie “Waiting in a line” which rings out with a very Alice in Chains styled sound, jumping from clean guitars in the verse to heavily distorted in the chorus, coupled with its dark sounding vocals and tightly controlled wah pedal enhanced guitar solo.
“State of mind” closes the album and it keeps the Seattle styled sounds, this time coming off more like Pearl Jam, mixing acoustic guitars in with the distorted ones and the clean tones, helping keep the surreal theme which runs through the album, keeping the hypnotic feel to it going right till the end.
Overall, “On Earth” is a fantastic piece of music. It captures the attention and holds it for the duration, only making subtle changes to songs where required, allowing you to tell where one song starts and where another one ends but not noticeable enough to consciously keep track of the changes. Given the band’s name, this slice of Stoner rock meets Seattle sounding grunge with psychedelic vibes truly is a gift from the gods.
(Fraggle. 8/10)
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