Category Archives: Classic Albums Revisited

Pretty self-explanatory…

The Diablo Red record that never was…

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Moving to my new apartment a couple weeks back forced me to reorganize my CD collection.  And be reorganize, I mean get rid of a lotta shit.  That said, I had some titles so obscure that even Sonic Boom wouldn’t touch ‘em.  And then there were the demos and CDRs I stumbled across, including this one, the never-released fourth album from my former favourite Toronto band, Diablo Red…

Just stuck this in my CD player for the first time in who-knows-how-long.  Alas, while it skipped like a suicide mother on several occasions, what I was able to ascertain is that it still sounds refreshingly awesome.  Here’s the blow-by-blow:

Always thought “Shotglass Full of Pills” was a great opening track.  A straight-ahead southern chugger with a big, anthemic chorus about their singer’s struggles with Crohn’s Disease…  Wait, was it Crohn’s?  I suppose it could be interpreted as a drug-addiction song too, for that matter.  Still a great, great song.  Personal favourite.

On the other hand, I can’t recall “Long After the Fall” at all.  A good stoner groove kicks this one off, to a slightly slow-paced stomp.  Okay, I definitely recognize this chorus.   Name-drops Jesus without sounding too preachy.  This song is every bit as good as Black Label Society, Black Stone Cherry, and all those other southern-sounding bands that received their share of recognition—whether they began with Black or not.  “Unbroken” actually sounds a little bit like BLS, come to think of it, with a bit more of a gruff, smoky growl than we’re used to hearing from Catch Murphy.

“King Con” is another one I recognize, as it slowly creeps up to the surface, riffs building on top of a lone, repeated guitar line.  From there, it’s all stop-and-start territory, a winding path that would make Nashville Pussy proud.  “Stone of Atonement” begins with an upbeat shuffle signalling a slightly more up-tempo number.  These guys always were good when they (rarely) played fast, although this one’s just a little more than mid-paced with a slow, gloomy instrumental break thrown in for good measure.  Now, “Crossroads” may be a clichéd title, but this song is anything but ordinary, culminating in another catchy chorus that should have raised many fists at biker rallies.  (I heard they played a couple in their day.)

“Death’s Our Name” was meant to be the title track, though they were going with some garbled Spanish translation as I recall.  In any case, Diablo was certainly fluent in the language of the riff, as another solid southern stomper gets my boots shakin’ in no time.  Frankly, I feel that “southern doom” is a fairly non-existent subgenre, but I suppose it should sound something like this.

“Six Bells Till Closing” is another personal favourite.  At one point, they were going to release a pirate-themed EP with this as its centrepiece.  And yet, I used to think this song was called “Dying Man’s Morning,” as it was mislabelled on an earlier demo I used to have.  (And maybe still have somewhere…)  Alas, the Pirate EP never happened, but I stagger stagger-ed, roll roll-ed quite often to this tune, if ya know what I mean.  “Cannons roar/My blade digs in/Shattered bones/Survive you win!”  Always loved that line.

Of course, since this album never actually came out, I reckon the band doesn’t owe Gene Simmons royalties for “1,000 Years,” which is just one zero short of a KISS song title.  That said, this song tunes KISS down several notches for a low ‘n slow southern ballad(?) that grooves along grunge-ily.  It’s somewhat more laid-back and low-key compared to the other killer cuts on here, until it explodes into a mind-melting solo that’s but a bit too brief.

The album ends with two songs that I can’t recall for the life of me.  “Lost Tomorrow” is another sorta-slow, down-tuned, low-key effort—one more hyphen and it wins the prize, albeit at six-minutes plus, it sure takes its sweet time to collect.  As for “Shower of Bastard,” well, I’d imagine it would be quite smelly.  But it turns out this tune has a slight spring to its step, with a repeated “fuck you” refrain.  Erm, perhaps that’s a pre-refrain—which sorta sounds like those beans I had at that Mexican place last night…

Maaaaaaaaaaan, I miss this band.  It would be nice if this freakin’ CDR didn’t skip so much, but considering I found it in a pile of stuff I didn’t even know I had a couple weeks back, I suppose I can’t complain.

“I raise my glass… to my comrades that fel-ee-ee-el!”

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NOT-SO-CLASSIC ALBUM REVISTED: As I Lay Dying – Shadows are Security (Metal Blade, 2005)

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You actually listen to As I Lay Dying?  You own an As I Lay Dying CD?  More than one?

Nope, just this one, actually.  I got it as a free promo when I was with CKLN, listened to it once or twice, then filed it away in a binder somewhere, never to be played again—until their singer was arrested for allegedly paying a guy to kill his wife.  For a band that lists God first amongst the Thank Yous in the liner notes of this very album, that’s certainly not very Christian of him.  Of course, these allegations have yet to be proven in a court of law—but I kinda wanna play this thing backwards to see if Tim Lambesis says “Do It” back-masked on here somewhere…

When spun in the proper direction, the album begins with “Meaning in Tragedy,” which sounds an awful lot like In Flames circa Clayman.  In fact, they could’ve called this “Only for the Weak Pt. 2—Now with More Breakdowns!”  One does detect a Christian theme in the lyrics, at least those that aren’t delivered with a gurgling vocal that sounds like my sink backing up when that storm hit.  “Confined” was one of four(!) singles released by Metal Blade off of this one, and wastes no time in getting down to the chugga-lugga.  It also has some clean vocals in this chorus that kinda sound like Hoobastank or something.  “Losing Sight” also bursts out of the gate with some At the Gates worship before driving in the nail with annoying metalcore drumming.  There are actually one or two decent riffs in here that wouldn’t sound outta place on a mid-level thrash album—were it not for the chugging drums.

“The Darkest Nights” (single #4, if you’re keeping track at home) has a decent Gothenburg-sounding demarche, reminding me that I haven’t listened to ANY of this kind of music in quite some time.  But the nostalgia is ruined by another crappy clean chorus, and I’m almost tempted to put on Whoracle instead (which actually happens to be stashed in the same CD binder).  “Empty Hearts” brings back the metal-to-the-core in a big way with a big karate-chopping bit right off the bat.  Consider me unfulfilled.  “Reflection” falls back into the familiar, one-core, one-melo-death alternating pattern as another helping of the latter.  Are there really six more songs of this!?

Indeed, there are.  “Repeating Yesterday” starts off slow and mellow, sounding almost like a Neurosis number—for about a minute.  But even the heavier moments have a slightly more progressive bent, a welcome respite from all the pummeling up to this point.  Of course, the breakdowns return with “Through Struggle,” which I believe was the third single.  More Gothenburg-core worship.  “The Truth of My Perception” also bursts out of the gates before bursting into a buncha breakdowns.  Not that they’re becoming predictable or anything…

“Control is Dead” starts off with a sea of swirling feedback, but instead of going the Sons of OTIS route (yeah, like that was gonna happen!), it’s back to the breakdowns, some decent fast-paced riffing punctuated far too often with those thundering drums.  “Morning Waits” is (surprise, surprise) another melodic-death number, those clean, up-tempo passages sounding all too familiar by now.  “Illusions” brings this to a sweet, merciful end with several seconds of crackling radio static that increases in volume and intensity before fading out into a winding riff, and you know it won’t be long before the chugging begins anew.  The tempo is slightly different—and includes several whispered-word passages—but overall, the song remains the same.

Y’know, hearing this again, I think I remember thinking back in the day that these guys were a lot like In Flames, just not as good.  They’ve certainly reaffirmed that perception with this subsequent listen.  Simply put, this is not a killer record, but it might hand someone a grand at Gold’s Gym to knock you off. ;)

CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED: Slayer – Reign in Blood (Def Jam, 1986)

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Guitarist Jeff Hanneman died the other day of liver failure, which may or may not have been related to a spider bite he suffered a couple years back.  And if you don’t know who Jeff Hanneman is, you don’t know Slayer.  The duo of Hanneman and Kerry King not only shredded all over several thrashterpieces; they wrote most of them, too.  In fact, Hanneman is solely responsible for either the words or the music to such classics as “Angel of Death,” “Altar of Sacrifice,” “Reborn,” “Postmortem” and “Raining Blood”—all from the band’s 1986 genre-defining classic Reign in Blood.

Slayer’s major-label debut—on Def Jam Records, no less!—was so short that you could fit the entire thing on one side of a cassette.  But you’d be hard-pressed to find a more impactful 29 minutes of metal anywhere up to that point, or even since.  Storming out of the gates with “Angel of Death,” the band immediately makes its presence felt with a barrage of buzzsaw riffage begetting a tortured Tom Araya scream that sears itself into your skull.  The verses chug and grind like a well-oiled machine, pumping and pulsating beneath a simple, scream-along chorus—to say nothing of the redonkulous divebomb guitar solo!  This, right here, is how thrash is supposed to sound, kids.

While the anthemic opener and bookend “Raining Blood” both surpass the four-minute mark, not another one of these 10 tracks exceeds three minutes.  “Piece by Piece” chugs along for a shade over two minutes, its stop-start riffage pounding your speakers all the way.  “Necrophobic” kicks it up another notch, an impossibly-fast number that’s all over in one-minute-40.  “Altar of Sacrifice” slows things down—relatively speaking, of course—for three minutes of metal-thrashing-madness with Satanic themes, before “Jesus Saves” drives in the nail with its whiplash-inducing march of the damned.

The slow drum beat that begins “Criminally Insane” will stay in your brain, as a subtle chug rises up from the midst.  Next to “Angel of Death,” this is probably the best song to shout along with—if your tongue can keep up with Tom Araya’s, that is.  “Reborn” is another quick little thrasher that pulls no punches, pummeling the listener into submission in just over two minutes.  “Epidemic” keeps pushing the tempo with a blast of thrash, until “Postmortem” brings it to a near-close with more of a mid-paced gut-punch building to a crashing crescendo as it comes to a close.

And then, of course, comes the pseudo title-track, “Raining Blood” with its familiar rain-drops and pounding drums intro leading into a song that’ll make your Christmas lights go crazy.  This number pushes the pace even more than its famous predecessor, and while it doesn’t have the catchy lyrics about a nasty Nazi, it more that makes up for it in sheer headbangability.  And of course, there’s that famous ringing riff that sounds like some sort of demented Christmas carol, bringing on the breakdowns that show all those karate-chopping bands how it’s done.  Another dropping divebomb solo shows why Jeff Hanneman matters—if you hadn’t been paying attention to this point.  Here’s hoping he got enough in the can before his passing to make their next record worthwhile.

GOBLIN REVISITED: A Eulogy for the Fans (Candlelight, 2013)

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One would assume that when sending out promos for this live CD/DVD, the label and/or its PR team might think to include the video as well as the audio—but that’s sadly not the case. I suppose it’s somewhat more difficult to send digital DVD promos, but I digress…

What we have here, on the audio portion, is the band’s hour-long set from last year’s Bloodstock Open Air, one which draws heavily from the similarly titled studio album—albeit not too heavily, with just four of the twelve tracks culled from their latest record. We’re also treated to such chestnuts as “Blue Snow” and the title track from sophomore effort Time Travelling Blues and the one-two punch of “Scorpionica” and “Quincy the Pigboy” off of 2000’s The Big Black.

“We’re Orange Fuckin’ Goblin, we’ve come to play you some heavy metal!” Ben Ward gives us his best Lemmy off the top, leading into “Red Tide Rising,” the fans’ eulogy commencing in much the same fashion as that of the damned. The record sorta comes off like a Motorhead set in its not-overly-polished, warts-and-all approach—which suits this blend of dirty, heavy rock just fine, mind you. “Time Travelling Blues” is dedicated to “every single one of you,” the band engaging in typical festival banter (“It’s a fuckin’ honour to be here,” etc) between songs. There’s even a Cockneyed “Goblin, Goblin” chant from the crowd on a couple occasions…

Man, I dunno if they’ll get a full hour when they open for Clutch on these shores, but this seems like a pretty decent precursor of things to come.

(Originally written for hellbound.ca.)

GOBLIN REVISITED: A Eulogy for the Damned (Candlelight, 2012)

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Hot on the heels of their early Rise Above reissues, Orange Goblin return with their first new album in almost five years. But this one isn’t so much of a blast from the past, An Eulogy… picking up where they left off with Healing Through Fire with those southern-style stoner grooves, though this one has a bit more of an epic sludge attack with some Mastodonic leanings on tunes like the opener, “Red Tide Rising.”

There is also a bit of a rough-around-the-edges, Motorhead heavy blues vibe on a couple of these tracks, Ben Ward channeling Lemmy with his sandpaper rasp. See “Stand for Something,” for instance, or “The Filthy and the Few.”

You’ll also find some mellower moments on here, like “Save Me from Myself,” which sounds like a raspier Kenny Wayne Sheppard number, but they’re balanced out with the heavy storm of tunes like “The Fog” or “Bishop’s Wolf.” Hey, variety is the spice of life, right?

(Originally written for Hellbound.ca, December 19, 2011)

FU MANCHU REVISITED: The Action is Go (Mammoth, 1997)

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We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Orange Goblin worship to bring you a little Fu.  The seminal So-Cal stoner rockers are in town tonight, and they’ll be playing the following in its entirety:

The Action is Go (Mammoth, 1997)

This record came out in October ‘97, which means that it’s almost old enough to drive.  (Is it merely coincidental that the Fu are touring classic albums to celebrate their 16th birthdays?  I think not!)  Action marked a distinct change in the band dynamic, with the departure of future Nebuloids Eddie Glass and Ruben Romano, to be replaced by Bob Balch and Brant Bjork, respectively.  Also, with this being the band’s second album for Atlantic subsidiary Mammoth Records, they brought in a big-name producer, Jay Noel Yuenger of White Zombie, who also added some keys to several songs.  He’s officially credited on “organ, Minimoog, Electro-Harmonix Space Drum.”  Hmm, I wonder who’ll be playing the Space Drum tonight…

But enough of me yakkin’, let’s boogie!  “Evil Eye” gets us kick-started with some solid stoner grooves, accentuated with just a little wah.  And yes, this song is clearly about cars, despite the catchy refrain of “Evil… Eye… Will Fall” delivered in Scott Hill’s trademarked nasal drawl.  “Urethane” drops into a lower gear, this one a laid-back, mellow jam with plenty of cowbell that culminates in a big fuzzy chorus.  But the title track kicks it back up, a more upbeat number with a heavy, groovy chorus.  “Burning Road” is one of the longest songs on here at 5:47, and it’s predictably slow and spacey with some heavy riffs interspersed that’ll have your head nodding off into space…  Just try to keep your evil eyes on the road!

“Guardrail” opens with some tasteful wah before launching into a killer stoner riff.  Like many Fu numbers, the lyrics are semi-spoken over a brisk drum beat while the guitar riffs come in between verses, the whole thing culminating in a heavy chorus.  (Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.)  “Anodizer” displays another Fu Manchu speciality, the nice, slow groove that speeds up slightly for a driving chorus—with  some bizarre nonsensical lyrics, to boot!  “Trackside Hoax” also starts off slow, although this one doesn’t really pick up speed, giving us a laid-back, almost doomy chorus.  I detect at least a couple pentatonics…  “Unknown World,” on the other hand, takes the same slow verse and kicks up the pace for the chorus, delivering some serious stoner vibes in the process.

“Laserbl’ast” gets into the groove with some “dun-dun” riffing (for lack of a better term), eventually adding some vintage 70’s-style licks into the mix.  A blast of feedback begins “Hogwash,” which otherwise wastes no time in getting down to the fuzzy, crunchy goodness.  I can definitely hear some Minimoog on this one, if not the Electro-Harmonix Space Drum.  “Grendel Snowman” has a slightly darker vibe, the vocals a might muddier, to say nothing of the guitars.  Not sure why Scott Hill keeps saying “Unidentified,” though.

Heading into the homestretch, “Strolling Astronomer” is another classic Fu cut, those vintage So-Cal cruisin’ riffs aged to perfection.  “Saturn III” is one heckuva heavy album closer, nearly eight minutes of head-nodding fuzz riffs and lyrics about space that are sometimes delivered with an underwater shimmer effect.  “Nothing Done” is but a brief blast by comparison, a fast-paced, one-minute, punk-rock number that recalls the band’s early days as Virulence.  I figure it’s an interesting footnote.

GOBLIN REVISITED: Healing Through Fire (Sanctuary, 2007)

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Healing Through Fire (Sanctuary, 2007)

Truth be told, this is one of those albums that I purchased a while back and has been sitting in a CD binder not getting many spins.  That being said, some people seem to really like it—with an average rating of 95 per cent on Metal Archives.  Methinks it’s time to give ‘er another listen…

The album opens with “The Ballad of Solomon Eagle,” which quickly hits you with a blast of molten riffage.  A decent mid-paced number with some solid grooves and a memorable chorus, it really starts things off right.  “Vagrant Stomp” starts off as a low, fuzzy rumble, then kicks up the pace with some slithering stoner riffs and gritty southern wails leading to another chorus that sticks with you.  It looks like they put a conscious effort into chorus construction this time around.  “The Ale House Braves” gives us some more heavy southern grooves, this record starting to remind me of the now-defunct Diablo Red (who were still in their formative years when this came out).

“Cities of Frost” has me half-expecting some epic melodic death-metal adventure a la Amon Amarth, but that expectation quickly passes as the initial distorted riff keeps buzzing in my left ear.  This one does have a bit more of a “post-sludge” feel as opposed to the straight-up stoner doom of previous numbers, ending with a heavy riff that I’d almost like to hear expanded further.  But “Hot Knives and Open Sores” brings things back towards straight-ahead heavy rock, some call-and-response vocals and winding riffs notwithstanding.  OK, so this one is definitely more dynamic than the first few.

“Hounds Ditch” opens with the kind of sustained riffage and pounding drums that sound sorta like Neurosis, leading me to wonder where it goes next.  That direction takes us off in a more straight-forward boogie, however, and while still a decent tune isn’t as adventurous as I’d hoped.  “Mort Lake (Dead Water)” offers a change of pace with its brief acoustic interlude, before “They Come Back (Harvest of Skulls)” opens with some more post-metal meets heavy grooves.  The back half is sort of a mish-mash of the two styles, and it’s fairly well executed.  Of course, it’s hard to forget the classic chorus on this one—which remains a live staple to this day.  The semi-thrash section that kicks in around the two-minute mark was certainly unexpected, though it leads into more of a Pantera-style groove metal attack as opposed to killing poseurs or something.

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Orange Goblin record without an epic album-closer, “Beginners Guide to Suicide” coming off a cross between dirty fuzz and Mississippi mud.  This slow-paced number even includes lap-steel guitar and harmonica, and is certainly less doomy, but no less depressive than previous efforts.  It’s almost a given that we’ll get some heavy riffs here and there, but they don’t drive the mood, only punctuate it.  For instance, the riff that comes in just shy of the seven-minute mark following an extended solo really hits its mark.  While it’s a different direction that previous epics, it remains largely satisfying.

GOBLIN REVISITED: Thieving from the House of God (Rise Above, 2004)

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Thieving from the House of God (Rise Above, 2004)

The first full-fledged “southern metal” album in the Orange Goblin catalogue also happened to be their last on Rise Above.  I’m not sure if there’s any correlation, though I can’t exactly picture Lee Dorrian in a confederate-flag trucker hat.  In any case, Thieving… is a pretty solid platter, more straight-forward and less diverse than previous efforts, perhaps, but still a good ol’ heavy rock record.

The album opens with pounding, catchy single (and yes, it was actually released as a single) “Some You Win, Some You Lose,” the oft-repeated song-title quickly searing itself in your memory bank.  This album contains four commas in its song titles, with half coming in the next song, “One Room, One Axe, One Outcome.”  The five-and-a-half-minute number takes a little longer to get going, a swarm of swirling riffage eventually leading into an up-tempo axe-grinder with some solid groovy breakdowns.  “Hard Luck” brings back the blues in a tight, compact number somewhat reminiscent of Motorhead, Ben Ward’s gruff vocals adding a little Lemmy to the mix.

“Black Egg” offers another tasty blues lick, albeit at a much slower pace.  Just another solid, straight-ahead stomper—complete with female backing vocals!  “You’re Not the One (Who Can Save Rock n’ Roll)” is another punky, Motorhead-style pummeling, with a couple squealing, screeching guitar licks making their presence felt in the chorus, though this one isn’t without a couple twists and turns in its brief runtime.  “If It Ain’t Broke, Break It” continues the streak of in-your-face awesome song-titles, though the song itself is somewhat short of spectacular, its “Progress stops here” refrain towards the end being the most memorable moment.  After a while, some of these tunes just seem to blend together, and aren’t particularly noteworthy on their own.  On that note, “Lazy Mary” isn’t dramatically different from the host of up-tempo, somewhat-bluesy, three-minute numbers to be found throughout.

One of the songs that does stand out is “Round Up the Horses,” with its vicious whipsaw riff applied at a slow, methodical pace which delves into a nice slow burn featuring muttered vocals and a memorable refrain.  Ok, so this one sounds a fair bit like Clutch, but that sets it somewhat apart I suppose.  On the other hand, “Tosh Lines” is a complete throwaway, a one-minute punk song with garbled vocals that sounds oddly enough like Kylesa (who weren’t really around back then, mind you).  Speaking of tacked-on tracks, the ZZ Top cover “Just Got Paid” is adequate enough, but adds little to the overall proceedings.  Finally, “Crown of Locusts” wraps things up in grand fashion, the band once again saving the longest for last.  This one isn’t nearly as downtrodden as, “The Big Black,” mind you, more of a mid-paced grinder, though the pace slows considerably past the three-minute mark, with an uber-heavy approach taking things down into doom, and almost even drone, territory for a solid stretch, an extended instrumental that’s much darker than most of the material on here.  That said, I still prefer “The Big Black.”

GOBLIN REVISITED: Coup de Grace (Rise Above, 2002)

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Coup de Grace (Rise Above, 2002)

Orange Goblin’s fourth album is best remembered as a stopgap these days.  Although there are 12 songs on here, none are really considered classics—it’s worth noting that their current live set (or at least the one that was recorded for the Eulogy for the Fans CD/DVD) doesn’t contain a single tune from Coup de Grace.  Which is not to say it’s a bad album; it just hasn’t really stood the test of time.  Stoner rock was on its way out in 2002, and the band had yet to really harness the more “southern-style” sound as heard on later releases.  Yuuup, sounds like a stopgap to me…

The opening word of “Your World Will Hate This” is a singular “Fuck,” this two-minute tune adopting a punkier feel by way of The Hellacopters.  “Monkey Panic” opens with a rumble, another dirty slice of stoner rock ‘n roll with a big, catchy chorus about guns, pills and whiskey…  oh, and monkeys.  “Rage of Angels” opens with an angry copper in some sound-clip, then quickly adopts a flighty pace, vocals and guitars switching off on the verse, before slowing down into mellow desert-rock territory right around the three-minute mark.

“Made of Rats” slows things back down to a grungy-doom pace with Ben Ward doing his best John Garcia impression overtop.  Waitaminnit, actually, that is John Garcia.  (The dude appears on both this number and “Jesus Beater.”)  The chorus consists of repeating the song title three times, with a “Yeah!” thrown in for good measure.  Meh.  “Whiskey Leech” injects a little more groove, this number a little more up-tempo with some solid fuzzy riffs and a nice jazzy section about halfway through.  “Getting High on the Bad Times” is, if nothing else, the most awesome song title on here.  It’s not a bad little number either, the song title half-whispered over a fuckton of fuzz for the chorus before trailing off into instrumental territory for a slight spell, then bringing it all home with a vicious Ward vocal.

“Graviton” begins with acoustic guitar, a four-minute instrumental that really mellows things out initially, gradually building to a spacey crescendo.  “Red Web” is apparently about zombies, judging by the news-clip intro, and it crawls along at a plodding pace like the undead, albeit slightly faster.  “Born with Big Hands” is a bit bluesier, with a call-and-response delivery reminiscent of Clutch.  I just double-checked, and Neil Fallon does not appear on this number….

On the other hand, Garcia makes his return on “Jesus Beater,” which is just as greasy and dirty as his initial appearance on “Made of Rats.”  The chorus offers up a decent stoner groove, but Kyuss, this is not.  Speaking of unexpected guests, the band next chimes in with a Misfits cover(!?), Ben Ward not really doing Danzig justice on “We Bite.”  The albums then ends with “Stinkin’o’ Gin,” another Clutchy, bluesy number, which drags on for 7+ minutes.  Hmm, perhaps they might chuck a couple numbers offa this one in their supporting set, after all?

GOBLIN REVISITED: The Big Black (Rise Above, 2000)

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The Big Black (Rise Above, 2000)

The new millennium brought with it Orange Goblin’s third album, another fine release.  I’ve heard some people say this is where they jumped the shark—moving away from the stoner sound on subsequent efforts, but they’ve still got plenty of grooves here, with the opening one-two punch of “Scorpionica” and “Quincy the Pigboy” keeping nature lovers happy.  The title track, meanwhile, offers a punishing seven-minute slab of doom—but of course, they save that till the end.

“Scorpionica” kicks things off with some solid mid-paced chugging, swirling stoner interludes and a wah-heavy guitar solo that brings things down into more mellow territory.  “Quincy the Pigboy” picks up before the last note of its predecessor fades out, this one also displaying a keen sense of groove, with a bit more of an upbeat pace and a spacey guitar solo that explodes into a riff-heavy climax.  “Hot Magic, Red Planet” takes the desert-rock torch and runs with it, another solid sub-four-minute number with a decidedly SoCal feel that takes a slow, lumbering turn around the 2:30 mark.

“Cosmic Bozo” slows things down and spaces shit out, the six-minute tune taking on a lazy, psychedelic vibe in the early going.  Kinda reminds me of Monster Magnet.  It retains that spacey vibe as it rolls along, a clash of the titans between Magnet and Kyuss (thinking particularly of Sky Valley), if you will.  “298 kg” is certainly a heavy vegetable, a slow, slithering riff that lays it down low ‘n slow and keeps ‘er rollin’ till the cosmic cows come home.  Speaking of large animals, “Turbo Effalunt (Elephant)” also packs a wallop, an upbeat stoner rock number that hits ya like a herd of southbound pachyderms.  Meanwhile, “King of the Hornets” buzzes around gently in the breeze, but when it lands on your skin about a minute in, it packs a bit of a bite.  (Hey maaaan, it’s not my fault they used so many animal song titles on this record!)

Instrumental “You’ll Never Get to the Moon in That” offers a slight change of pace, this one a little more mellow than even “Cosmic Bozo” with some eerie echoing sound-clips in the background.  “Alcofuel” offers a brief burst of southern-styled groove rock, two-and-a-half-minutes and a cloud of smoke.  And then it’s time for the title track.

“The Big Black” comes groovin’ up slowly, a beautifully haunting riff being afforded several measures to linger before the full-fledged arsenal hits ya.  This one keeps on going at a knuckle-dragging pace, the vocals drenched in an echo effect with menacing backup that only adds to the eerie proceedings.  The chorus features a heavy reprise of the intro riff that sounds even more haunting with some added heft.  And when the screams come, it’s vaguely reminiscent of Pentagram, filtered through some cult horror-film soundtrack.  Cool interlude, dude!  We finally get an unexpected change of pace just shy of the six-minute mark with an explosive guitar solo pushing the tempo up to 11 in a classic nod to their NWOBHM ancestors (I’m thinking Diamond Head or Angel Witch, maybe) as the song fades out just shy of seven minutes.  But hey, stick around for the drunken shenanigans afterwards… ;)