Monster Magnet - Powertrip
(A&M, 1998)

Monster Magnet make a full-fledged, albeit temporary exodus from psychedelia on this release, and marvelously shine for a brief moment on what is their heaviest album to date. Make no mistake, Monster Magnet are out for blood on Powertrip, a dynamic meat-cutter of an album. A scorching "Come on!" opens up this album, and Crop Circle comes down through the ceiling with an effortless grunge groove. Powertrip, the second song, crunches through a jackhammer tribal stomp featuring an anthemic chorus of mythic proportions. The acoustic funk of Spacelord smoothly glides around a pounding rhythm at first, then comes headlong into a mighty Black Sabbath guitar smash. Elsewhere, there lies the unrefined mind-pounding of Bummer, the melodic jam of Third Eye Landslide, retroactive drug-influenced cruiser Tractor, and the MC5-like slow-burner Atomic Clock. Even when psychedelic smoke creeps into the music, Monster Magnet usually pull it off on this record, as in the sonically interesting Baby Gotterdamerung. Sure, Powertrip contains a few tranquilizers, but these minor sedatives are trampled with a heavy dose of stimulants early on, making this album one of the lead "stoner" rock records of the late nineties.

Rating: 5/5