YouTube video by Dreams of Consciousness

YouTube video by Pegzilla

PEGZILLA open their debut album, Disobedience, without saying a word. “Pay the Toll” lasts barely a minute: a clean guitar slowly fills with fuzz until it ends up buried beneath a wall of doom. That's all the warning you get. First the spell, then the hammer. For all the doom that creeps in, and the “witchy doom” tag this Los Angeles trio wear, what really drives the record is the mix of hard rock, stoner and psychedelia running through its eight tracks. The riffs are huge, but they groove. There's desert dust, amps pushed to the limit and plenty of Sabbath DNA, yet the band never sound obsessed with recreating the past. “Troll on Speed” has a dry, mechanical pulse that nods towards Queens of the Stone Age, while “Chelsea” pairs muscular Sabbath riffs with the tighter punch of modern stoner rock.

It’s October, a month whose suitability for seasonal comments is eclipsed only, perhaps, by December. Pumpkins and their spiced lattes, sweaters, lawn decorations, and costumes provide a nearly bottomless well of small talk from sea to shining sea. Searching for a timely promo to review as a chill worms its way into the air and the leaves blaze in the weeks before death, I stumbled across Los Angeles-based trio Pegzilla and their debut LP, Disobedience. This follows an EP in 2022 and a slew of singles in the intervening years. If the promise of witchy stoner rock and riot grrrl energy didn’t sell me, reading their Spotify bio did.1 Will Disobedience be the album of this year’s all-too-short spooky season? After nostalgic intro, “Pay the Toll,” Pegzilla pop the clutch and burn rubber on first proper track “Troll on Speed.” With a lip-snarling opening riff, hopes are set quite high. If Joan Jett joined Queens of the Stone Age, you’d get something very like Pegzilla. Vocalist/guitarist Olivia Saperstein rips riffs fit for both endless road trips (“Troll on Speed,” “Bootlicker”) and western shootouts (“Virginia Werewolf”) while her crooning vocals tempt and coax you past the underlying danger that suffuses all of Disobedience. Far from a simple bass walker, Juan Barsse drives the crime noir atmosphere of “Pistola” and the aquatic psychedelics of penultimate track “Hell Ya Brother.” Together, Saperstein and Barsse brew a delightful, soulful groove, best heard on “Troll on Speed” and “Pistola.” Of course, were it not for drummer Ryan Swain muscular fills and impressive pacing, much of Pegzilla’s weight and intensity would evaporate like an early fall morning fog. Disobedience by Pegzilla Each member of Pegzilla plays well, and each section of each song lands anywhere from fine to very good in a vacuum, but on the track level and as a whole, Disobedience struggles for cohesion. The album often feels like a puzzle with nice pieces that’s put together in the most flabbergasting way possible. With the exception of “Chelsea,” every track on Disobedience abruptly shifts from fast to slow and back again with little to no warning. It’s a lot like riding shotgun with someone who hasn’t driven a manual in a decade. That riffs or passages struggle to relate to each other tonally or in pacing further hampers Disobedience’s ability to build momentum and inertia, making this 29-minute album feel much longer. This is exacerbated by a couple of tracks that overstay their welcome (“Pistola,” “Virginia Werewolf”) and a baffling outro track (“Troll Reprise”). Instrumental “Hell Ya Brother” isn’t the strongest album closer, but “Troll Reprise” feels like a directionless add-on that’s only made me think, “hey, remember 27 minutes ago when you had high hopes for this album?” For all this criticism though, I still think Pegzilla shows a lot of promise. While the chorus on “Chelsea” is pretty clunky, the song keeps on the gas all the way through, and the bridge after has a great Nirvanan flair to it. Saperstein’s solo work on “Troll on Speed,” “Pistola,” and “Virginia Werewolf” are all great, and “Bootlicker” is probably the album high point with its punky riot grrrl bent that wouldn’t be out of place in Joan Jett’s more aggressive work. We don’t hear Swain really let loose until it’s almost too late, but his kit work on “Hell Ya Brother” is nothing short of stellar. And while the faster instrumental section of “Pistola” loses its novelty when it’s repeated a minute later, it’s got some kick and launches well out of the track’s noir-tinged beginnings. The score below may be a little misleading. As a whole, so many of Pegzilla’s decisions, from a compositional or flow-minded perspective, leave me scratching my head. The majority of the tracks on Disobedience lack a cohesive identity, leaving them to feel haphazardly or hastily glued together. But all throughout Disobedience, I see the flashes of a very good record. Pegzilla’s got the ingredients to a winning formula, and even though they didn’t come together right on Disobedience, I’ll be keeping an eye out for the sophomore effort. --- Rating: 2.0/5.0 DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM Label: Ripple Music Websites: Official | Bandcamp | Instagram Releases Worldwide: October 2nd, 2026 The post Pegzilla – Disobedience Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Los Angeles, California based Heavy Rock trio Pegzilla unveils new single and official video “Chelsea” taken from their debut album, “Disobedience,” set to release on October 9th, 2026 via Ripple Musi...

A foreboding warning for abusers, delivered using doom rock anger.

YouTube video by Pegzilla

Die Stoner / Doom Rock-Band PEGZILLA hat einen Labeldeal bei Ripple Music unterschrieben. Im Zuge dessen wird das…

Plus some heavy cuts from Bizarrekult, Moon Tooth, Pegzilla, and more! The post WORM, AMORPHIS, AXE DRAGGER & More Added To Metal Injection's Top Tracks Of The Week appeared first on Metal Injection.

Plus some heavy cuts from Bizarrekult, Moon Tooth, Pegzilla, and more! The post WORM, AMORPHIS, AXE DRAGGER & More Added To Metal Injection's Top Tracks Of The Week appeared first on Metal Injection.

1 track album

Los Angeles Heavy Rock trio Pegzilla have signed with Ripple Music for the release of their debut album “Disobedience” this October 3rd, and announce their East Coast Disobedience Tour to kick off in early September. If Sabbath got hexed by a riot grrrl and dragged through the desert at midnight, you would get Pegzilla. The Heavy Rock […]

BUY TICKETS: Rock N’ Roll Benefit Show For Pegzilla w/ Idol Lord, The Crotches, The Freeks, & Dizz Brew at Redwood Bar & Grill (8:00pm) The benefit shows are coming, Scenestar readers! Live music is s...

Los Angeles Heavy Rock trio Pegzilla have signed with Ripple Music for the release of their debut album “Disobedience” this October 3rd, and announce their East Coast Disobedience Tour to kick off in ...