There is one thing that can definitely be said about the New
\nJersey quartet, Monster Magnet, and their fifth studio release,
\nPowertrip<\/i>. That would be that the band proved its preceding
\nalbum,
\nDopes to Infinity<\/i>, was definitely the crossover album that
\nhas led the band away from the head of the largely underground
\n“stoner rock” scene (that its first three albums had identified the
\nband) and into a new cosmic hard rock league of its own.<\/p>\n
Lead vocalist Dave Wyndorf has used this album to confirm he is
\na lyrical genius of sorts while delivering the message on the ills
\nof a class struggle in American society to improve one’s worth due
\nto the evil’s of corruption and greed. Thus the album title is well
\nsuited as the moniker for this collection of rock anthems and
\nsongs.<\/p>\n
Possibly the lyric that may best represent Wyndorf’s warning on
\ncorruption can be found in the fifth track, “Bummer”, “Some people
\ngo to bed with Lucifer, then cry when they don’t greet the day with
\nGod.” On the subject of greed, the chorus of the title track rivets
\nthe following pomposity, “I’m never gonna work another day in my
\nlife, I’m way to busy powertrippin’ and I’m gonna shed you some
\nlight.”<\/p>\n
Supporting this education lesson are the collaborative efforts
\nof bandmates Ed Mundell (lead guitar), Joe Calandra (bass guitar),
\nand Jon Kleinman (drums). These guys definitely get the most out of
\ntheir instruments as they aggressively match the pace and fever of
\nWyndorf’s lyrical delivery.<\/p>\n
All messages aside, there is still the usual lyrical innuendo
\nand foolishness that any casual listener of the band has grown
\naccustomed to with references to drug use and sexual proclivity. I
\nmean, what would a Monster Magnet album be without this sample from
\nthe track “Tractor”, “I’ve got a knife in my back and a hole in my
\narm, I’m driving the tractor on the drug farm.”?<\/p>\n
So while this album anthemically rocks with songs like”3rd Eye
\nLandslide”, “Crop Circle”, “Bummer”, “Tractor” and the title track,
\nit also plummets into an almost seductive and satanic laced trance
\nwith the songs “Your Lies Become You”, “19 Witches”, and “Goliath
\nand Vampires”. Oh yeah, lest I forget the obligatory radio friendly
\nentry “Space Lord” which is coincidentally this author’s least
\nfavorite song on the album. Its entry onto the album ensures that
\nthere is something here for all listeners.<\/p>\n
While Monster Magnet forges into this new genre of hard rock, it
\nis not doing so recklessly. A well thought album concept,
\nfrighteningly humorous yet prophetic lyrics, and a riff heavy sound
\nall contribute to a high level of intrigue and creative artistry
\nthat many hard rock\/metal bands only wish to achieve. So is
\nPowertrip<\/i> the best Hard Rock\/Metal album of 1998? I’ll let
\nyou decide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":28134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6886],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-39529","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-monster-magnet","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39529"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}