Review: Robot God ‘Worlds Collide’

Australian psych, prog, and space rock trio Robot God’s resume reads like a who’s who of Aussie stoner and heavy rock, drawing members from Thumlock, Mother Mars, Los Hombre Del Diablo, and The Dirty Earth (who also featured the amazing vocal talents of the late, great Mandy Newton) to name a few. Seasoned, and multi-talented, they have come together to create Robot God.

The band have been compared to the likes of Earthless, Pink Floyd, and other bands of similar ilk (most people like a jumping off point as their intro to new music, I guess it’s rarely a bad thing!), but these comparisons are well warranted, and fans of those kinda bands would most likely dig Robot God as well.

Sleepwalking meanders over a sonic soundscape that lures the listener in, before picking up the tempo at around the eight-minute mark to cruise on out over an acid-drenched sundown. Ready To Launch is probably the most eclectic track on World Collide; it’s almost Beefheart in a way. Angular, choppy, and almost abrasive compared to the rest of the album, and probably my fave song from this set.

a sonic soundscape that lures the listener in…

A bottom-heavy fuzz bass leads into Boogie Man as guitarist and vocalist Raff Iacurto wastes no time in launching into a solo. As with the rest of the album, the band are in no hurry to get to the point, preferring to just take their time and stretch out their elongated tunes, no mean feat in my experience! The title track, Worlds Collide, is the most ‘rock’ tune on the album, with an extended moody breakdown where the guitar takes off on several different tangents as they wind out the album.

Whilst the band feature both bassist Matt Allen and Raff on vocals, I’d be inclined to say the vocals aren’t really the focal point of Robot God; more so the songs (and their construction) are what’s on display here as well as the bands (collective) musicianship. The songs are fairly complex, long (with three of the four being eleven plus minutes), and feature a plethora of one-off events and random sounds throughout. And being space-rock, there’s also a whole shitload of, well, spacey effects on here, while the vocals are all clean and well suited to the vibe. So, if you’re in a proggy frame of mind, give Worlds Collide a spin or two.

Label: Kozmik Artifactz
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Scribed by: El Jefe