Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby - 2004 - SPV Records

Track Listing1. Slut Machine 2.Supercruel 3.On The Verge 4.Unbroken (Hotel Baby) 5.Radiation Day 6.Monolithic 7.The Right Stuff 8.There’s No Way Out Of Here 9.Master Of Light 10. Too Bad 11.Ultimate Everything 12.CNN War Theme

Bringing back a hard rocking sound that has been gone far too long is Monster Magnet with their release “Monolithic Baby!” There is nothing like a return to the 1970’s heavy rock vibe every now and again when you are sick and tired of DJ Mixes and raps in your Metal music. Sometimes it is just that you have grown bored with all the arias that are prevalent in the European stuff that has been coming out. If anything like that describes your predicament then this CD by Magnet is just the remedy for you woes. This is pure balls to the wall hard rock and roll delivered by “Dangerous” Dave Wyndorf and his fellow band mates. SPV Records seem to be the perfect label for this group as they offer a wide variety of musical flavors for fans of varied genres to enjoy. The CD begins in overdrive and very rarely slows down the mental assault you will get from the guitar work of Ed Mundell and Phil Caivano. The pair delivers very well under the vocal powers of Wyndorf. Lyrically this is a very smart record and also a lot of fun to listen to. Musically it sets the expectations you might have of it, and raises the bar just a little higher.

While I felt a lot of the record was strong my favorites sit mainly with "Monolithic" (and its chorus that just begs for audience singing along) & "Unbroken" which is perhaps this CD’s version of “Space Lord”. The guys also have included two covers for you to enjoy, one a David Gilmour piece “There’s No Way Out Of Here” which I felt was super impressive. They also cover “The Right Stuff” by Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters which has a great vocal effect and also found me referring to these tracks more on the CD after initial listens. I can’t see too many people disliking the CD as there is nothing overall bad on it, and it certainly moves quickly enough. Diehards might be a little disappointed in some of the psychedelic being lost for their more rock-oriented edge but I would hope they give them a chance with the new material. I want to stress for any new fans that the band is also a great live act and I’ve have seen them a couple of times. Their music and stage performance are both recommendations. Check them out.

Rating: 8/10

-- Ken Pierce 11.02.05