From their Pac-Man-inspired name to the Tom Denney t-shirt art and sound that blends elements of High on Fire, Torche, Neurosis, Unsane and Mastodon, Shreveport, Louisiana trio Power Pellut hit just about every mark for modern underground metal. Their self-titled debut, released vinyl-only by I’m Better than Everyone Records, offers such high-minded cuts as “Corky’s Revenge” and “If Only I Could Reach My Utility Belt…” and the use of Sunn amps by guitarist/vocalist Lonnie was so obvious that on my first listen, I picked it out without even seeing a picture of the band.

Fine. So they take the ever-emulated “Stones from the Sky” riff (the Helen of Troy for the post-metal movement; the riff that would launch a thousand bands) and transpose it onto Power Pellut opener “Black Molly.” Big deal. They play fast, thick metal that’s doom more in aesthetic than actuality, and though we all know expensive equipment does not a good band make, an angular track like “Rabbit Hole” has a sub-tech plod that seems to point out the behemoth doth stride. I’d be lying as well if I said “Corky’s Revenge,” with its deeply concerned screaming repetition of the lyric “March of the retards!” didn’t have a certain charm.

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