Monster Magnet, Dopes to Infinity (1995 A&M)
Dave Wyndorf and co had made two albums before this. The first picked them up a major label deal and the hopes that they could make the big time with an album. First album on A&M was Superjudge. For me a great album but just too stoner rock and acid filled for a mainstream audience.
The major was trying to cash in on the grunge rock highs that were being made by Nirvana and Soundgarden but the next album was a great cross of stoner and grunge and shows a band that could be even more alternative.
Mixing Hawkwind styled space rock and stoner rock they made a fantastic album that was released to glowing reviews but copies just did not sell.
The production is big for this album and unlike much of the stoner underground it is needed. This band can play and riff with the best in the planet.
Don't get me wrong they are more of a rock band than anything else and that come through here. But it takes guts to write songs that are 6 minutes long and add in lyrics about sci-fi daemons and orgies in another world while hopping about on a spaceship full of drugs.
The band did get some mainstream with the "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" single being a minor hit but for some reason the album sales stalled. To be fair the album does sound very good with the guitars getting a typical forward mix and the band accompanying the riffs. Even track six "Blow em off" shows a real relaxed side to the band with an acoustic song in its entirety, so it is not all out space rock.
With this album being number three they have had time to become a great band and also have some time to mess about in the studio "Dead Christmas" shows a band who know what they want to play. Dave's vocals make you want to close your eyes and think of something else, he can sing in such a relaxing way that you swear he is in the room. When you get to the last track "Vertigo" he is singing "There's a tiny little monkey, he lives inside my head" and clocking in at over 11 minutes there was never going to be a music video on MTV for this one.
The band was miles ahead of all the other stoner rock bands who tend to just simply make the same album time after time. They had the guts to make a change to there sound and try and incorporate the rock n roll style into there psychedelic stoner senses.
One thing people did do was buy the next album "Powertrip" gaining a gold certificate in America and even having hit singles in the UK everything did work out in the end. But this should be selling the same as there big album.
But again what do I know? All I know this is a classic stoner rock album and needs to be played with headphones on and a peace sign to the devil.
Dopes to Infinity is easily available on CD via Amazon.
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