PLANETOID

For some reason I’m bummed out—so I seek out the only cure I know that can help; some good old, honest, rock ’n’ roll. With nowhere in mind, a good friend suggests Great Scott, as they have kick ass shows lined up just about every night of the week. Tonight, as it turns out, is no exception. The band on the stage is Planetoid. The guitarist is some sort of devil beast with green skin and hair and a horn on the center of his head. The bassist is a pale blue man dressed in a white tuxedo and is otherwise normal except for his pointy Vulcan ears. Completing this trio is the drummer, none other than an evil robot that looks as if it had just wandered off the set of an old Lost in Space episode. The music is a blend of the best sci-fi rock you’ll can find this side of the Orion nebula. While there’s plenty of homage to the alien-demon gods in their music, there’s plenty of mortal music influences like AC/DC and Black Sabbath as well. At the end of their set I shake the guitarist’s hand-like appendage and congratulated him on such a good set. He nods, tells me that he appreciates the compliment, and that he’ll kill me when his kind takes over the planet. Hey Ovatus, if you are reading this—I’m holding you to that! (Kier Byrnes)
- The Noise - Boston

"Greetings, Earthlings. Prepare to meet your doom," says Planetoid singer/bassist "Locrius." Dressed in white suits painted green faces, near-glowing eyes, and horns upon their heads, it’s clear Planetoid is definitely one of a kind. A combination of fat riffs (ala Queens of The Stone Age,) Dinosaur Jr, and even some bluesy White Stripes swagger, guitarist "General Taleiah" and drummer, fittingly named "Admiral Time," (looking like Cylon from Battlestar Galactica with a white lab coat and machine-like mask,) overtook the sold-out crowd near the beginning of their set with a strong presence.

By the sixth song, "Russian Space Solution," head-banging minions had taken over the crowd. Throughout the show, Locrius, and General Taleiah spent most of the show stomping around in circles, taking breaks only to bend over backwards to the point where his head was nearing two inches from the floor. In between songs, he’d step up to the mic with a spooky 1000-yard stare into the audience.

For three dudes dressed as aliens in white suits, Planetoid are amazingly tight musicians with interesting riffs and catchy grunge-metal, completely with sludgy distortion and Big-Muff’d bass. Taleiah choked his guitar with an uncompromisingly gross octave distortion, but everything remained articulate and complex. Surprisingly, the alien gimmickry paid off. Staying in character and calling the audience "scum" while passionately playing up to their aforementioned identities, Planetoid is a must-see band. Catch em’ before their return to whatever stoner-rock planet they came from.

Review by Josh Thompson;
April '08 issue


- Northeast Performer

NE Performer – “Planetoid are amazingly tight musicians with interesting riffs and catchy grunge-metal… Planetoid is a must-see band. Catch em’ before their return to whatever stoner-rock planet they came from.”

The Noise – “The music is a blend of the best sci-fi rock you'll find this side of the Orion nebula. While there's plenty of homage to the alien-demon gods in their music, there's plenty of mortal music influences like AC/DC and Black Sabbath as well.”

Playgroundboston.com – “Their musical ability is as solid as it gets! Planetoid has a psychedelic sound with elements of metal, grunge, and stoner-rock thrown in, sort of like an extremely pissed-off Queens of the Stone Age if they formed back in the 70’s.”

Stonerrock.com – “The rhythm section is tight and grooves well, the guitarist can rip it up when need be, and the lyrics possess that clever wit that a lot of bands attempt and fall flat on their faces.”

The Noise 2 – “It sort of puts me in mind of what Frodo and the boys might punch into the jukebox when J.R.R. Tolkien isn’t looking.”

Progression Magazine - " ...Planetoid scores its Michael Moorcock/Marvel Comics/Heavy Metal inspired mini-epics with evil-flatted fifth riffs of destruction that have traveled in time from the ‘70s to mess up your mind... How these guys (droids?) get my vote is by doffing the dry, detuned block-chord monotones used by most contemporary heavy acts, and by bringing back some real emotion to classic retro-approved licks." - VARIOUS

PLANETOID Harpers Ferry, Allston, MA 11/4/09

Green Jelly was supposed to headline this show, but they canceled their whole tour. Jerks.

Planetoid was the other reason I committed to this show far in advance. It’s not every day you get to see aliens from the year 3032. They’ve got the whole space funk thing going, with a mean, phased guitar sound that lazes right into your brain. It’s a formidable acoustic weapon they wield, and their music draws me into their space fantasy. At first I think it’s just because of the four hot, provocatively dressed space girls dancing and playing with their hula hoops on stage (they look like they’re from a cover of an old Heavy Metal magazine), but when they leave I understand that Planetoid’s just got a catchy, unique sound going on. They GROOVE! I have heard that with the properly motivated audience they can perform the feats of space-time distortion and dimensional phasing boasted of on their MySpace page. Watching them play, I want to believe. (Joe Hacking)
- the Noise