Is there, or has there ever been in history, a band more dedicated to the cause of rock ’n’ roll than Monster Magnet? From the youthful rumblings of ‘spine of god’ via the twin peaks of ‘dopes to infinity’ and ‘powertrip’ and through the wilderness years of ‘god says no’, Monster Magnet, and main man Dave Wyndorf in particular, have walked it exactly like they’ve talked it, delivering a series of monstrously brilliant albums along the way. With music as excessive and driven as Monster Magnet’s, it is no surprise that the band succumbed to the vices and pitfalls of rock ‘n’ roll, with Dave overdosing on prescription drugs in 2006, and line-up changes blighting the band in the period surrounding ‘monolithic baby!’. Nonetheless, with adversity comes strength, and, subsequent to signing with the mighty Napalm records, Monster Magnet have already released one blinding album (2010’s ‘mastermind’) and better still is the swirling psychedelic doom trip of ‘last patrol’.
Opening on a more relaxed, albeit sinister, vibe than one might expect, ‘I live behind the clouds’ opens with Dave intoning “I got a feeling that no one cares” over a single guitar line that only slowly expands to admit the rest of the band. A subtle, slow-building track it repays the listener’s patience with one of Dave’s most nuanced performances, whilst the pay off, when it finally arrives some two minutes in, shows that Monster Magnet have been absorbing heavy doses of the Doors, Hawkwind and even Pink Floyd in the period since ‘mastermind’ hit the racks. The title track sees the band hit their stride with an incessant piano line driving the track under a wave of propulsive percussion, chrome-plated guitar and Dave’s trademark snarl. The production is gloriously analogue, aping the dusty sound of Thirteen Floor Elevators, and the band feels live rather than layered in digital production technique, and as a result Monster Magnet sound stronger and more gloriously decadent than ever. The solos, meanwhile, highlight the David Gilmour fascination first underscored on ‘Monolithic baby’ when the band trod common ground with their cover of ‘no way outta here’. The song, at ten minutes, is epic in length, but so varied are the sonic elements woven into it that it never grows wearisome, and at its conclusion it’s impossible to ignore the adrenalin surging through your body as the guitars build to a sweaty climax. More diverse still is the psychedelic ‘three kingfishers’ which mixes folk, eastern mysticism and heavy rock into a beguiling tapestry that is as imaginative and unexpected as when the Beatles first unveiled an eastern influence in their music. It is here that you realise just how far Monster Magnet have progressed. The fire and attitude – it’s all still here – but woven into textured and nuanced songs that dwarf the band’s previous commercial and artistic high points, drawing on a wide range of influences to deliver a set that is near flawless in execution.
Slowing the pace a touch, ‘paradise’, opens with a nagging, one-note guitar riff upon which the band slowly build up the song, weaving a dense tapestry that recalls the sun-bleached riffs of Kyuss set against the atmospheric, hypnotic sound of progressive rock at its most acid soaked. Dave is the star of the show here, his voice slithering between the beautifully phrased guitar parts and slowly working its way deep inside your head only for the song to abruptly end and plunge you headfirst into the twisted stomp of ‘hallelujuah’ with its multiple guitar parts and down ’n’ dirty cowpunk feel. A crushing blast that is awash with sleazy delight, ‘hallelujah’ is the ultimate rock ‘n’ roll hymn delivered with an unquenchable fire by a band who’ve lived the dream more than most. ‘Mindless ones’ opens in an echo chamber populated by the hoary ghost of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, before slamming the listener with blazing guitars and wild-eyed choruses that buzz with nervous energy and raw, rock ‘n’ roll spirit – the band sounding more untameable than ever as the phased guitar lines climax and dissolve into feedback. As if conscious that they’re heading into outer space with no possibility of return, the band take things down a peg for the mellotron soaked psychedelic blues of the ‘Duke (of supernature)’; a laid-back stroll through pastures hitherto inhabited by Deep Purple, Eric Clapton, Dave Gilmour and the Doors. It is a brilliantly relaxed track that showcases Monster Magnet at their most laid back, and it highlights just how timeless the band’s music has become. Heading back into the muscular territory pegged out by fellow space-adventurers Hawkwind, ‘End of time’ is a monumental metal epic, possessed of an almighty groove and delivered with utter conviction. With solos scarring its surface and massive, molten riffs bubbling from the very centre of the earth itself, ‘End of time’ is an apocalyptic masterpiece that stands as an easy highlight of the album. It only remains for ‘stay tuned’ to close the disc, segueing out of the noise that dominates the conclusion of ‘end of time’ and drifting into the distance. The track recalls the storied might of Neil Young, the band turning in a mellotron-drenched progressive-western epic as Dave drawls “there ain’t no targets to aim for, man, ain’t no more mountains to climb” over Spartan instrumentation. It is a beautiful, intelligently written, imaginatively arranged finale and the music has a filmic quality to it that is informed as much by the classic blues of Clapton as it is by the progressive melancholy of Dave Gilmour.
Monster Magnet haslong been an act to hold up as an example of the indomitable spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. Their albums have been hailed as stoner masterpieces, mainstream triumphs and cult classics, but never before have they sounded so utterly self-assured. There is no bluster here, just nine sonically brilliant tracks that stretch back deep into the history of hard rock whilst maintaining a healthy eye on the future. Still proudly carving out their own, unique sonic template, there is no other band like Monster Magnet, and ‘Last Patrol’ may be their finest work yet.
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