Musings: Planet of the 8s & Duneeater – Turned to Stone Chapter 5

Hot on the heels of last spring’s Higher Selves featuring two bands from Spain, Saturna and Electric Monolith, the fourth chapter in the series, Ripple Music will unleash the fifth chapter of their popular Turned to Stone split albums on August 5^th.  This time around, it’s a double assault of Aussie bands in the form of Duneeater and Planet of the 8s. I’d heard of both of these bands but had never sampled them until now. My bad. This is a really smooth and cool set of tunes that fits the split format like a shiny glove.

While I’ve listened to this album in its digital version, I believe its vinyl counterpart played on repeat will bring an even richer experience to the listener. Let me explain. It starts off on Side A with five tracks from the Duneeater quintet, followed on Side B by four tunes from the Planet of the 8s trio followed by Side A of Duneeater followed by Side B of Planet of the 8s and so on and so forth. What I mean by that is what we have here is an immersive collaboration between the two bands. Duneeater starts off with the instrumental “Dusk Part 2” which is a direct continuation of the last track on Side B of the Planet of the 8s instrumental “Dusk Part 1”. Side A ends with “Dawn Part 1” and Side B opens with “Dawn Part 2”, each band putting their own spin on the songs. So, there you go again, with songs that have the same motif. You can listen to it any way you want and it’ll always feel like a cohesive record as if you were listening to a well-crafted, joint musical endeavour. It really enhances the overall record, which would already be great regardless ‘cause there’re plenty of groovy tunes to be found here. If I had to pick a favourite song, it’d be Duneeater’s “Pleather Sex”. Vocalist Diesel Doleman channels Rob Zombie and it gives the songs even more bite. I also prefer Duneeater’s side to Planet of the 8s’, but to be fair, they only have three songs and an instrumental to represent them. For me, Duneeater’s shorter, catchier songs won me over, but they are a terrific pairing with the trio’s power and harmonized vocals reminiscent of Alice in Chains at times.

If you dig desert rock, stoner with an attitude, or Kyuss’s music particularly, then there’s no doubt you’ll absolutely love this new chapter of the Turned to Stone series. This is the kind of album you put on while you drive on a desert road or on lost highways. It can also be enjoyed among friends with a couple of cases of cold beers under the sun. In short, the ideal summer album chock-full of jams and riffs. So, pre-order your copy now and enjoy the fuzz!

Ripple Music’s Bandcamp page for Turned to Stone Chapter 5: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-5