The Monster Lives

Excessive, charismatic, and unpredictable, Monster Magnet are one of the greatest forces in rock. By combining the early-'70s sounding psychedelic garage noise with the over-the-top hard rock, they ushered in today's stoner rock scene, a genre in which they still remain at the forefront. Their one remaining original member, Dave Wyndorf, is an unhinged wildman whose sex, drugs and science fiction mindset has provided the band with simple, catchy hooks and some of the best stream-of-consciousness lyrics that you're ever going to hear. On stage and on record, he carries on like the illegitimate metalhead son of Iggy Pop and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and Monster Magnet's new album, 4-Way Diablo, confirms that Wyndorf is one of the most electrifying frontmen in rock history.

The album's title track, based on a Pixies-esque progression, is also the opener. While the psychedelic leads and Wyndorf's frantic vocals are all signature Magnet, it's for the most part a surprisingly subtle way to start a Monster Magnet album. Wyndorf survived a drug overdose in 2006--could it be that he lost some of his libido, belligerence, and screwball mentality in the process?

"Well I'm back!" Wyndorf bellows at the start of the raucous second track, 'Wall of Fire.' "I've got a cock made out of platinum! I got money comin' out of the sky!" Gotcha.


For the next hour or so, 4-Way Diablo touches on everything one would hope for in a Monster Magnet CD. From raging rockers like 'You're Alive' and 'Cyclone' to spacey stoner jams like 'A Thousand Stars' to the hypnotic, Arabian-flavored instrumental 'Freeze & Pixelate,' the album makes all the signature Monster Magnet stops, and makes it clear that the band has finally found the perfect balance between their droning space rock and their more brash cock-rock. Like former tourmates Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson, Wyndorf is an unapologetic rock star, and his uncontrollable, outlandish persona blows up on 4-Way Diablo, ranting and howling comic book hallucinations like it's the gospel. His songs are not always as indelible as his persona, but the band is solid and versatile enough to make everything sound great while it's happening. Guitarist Ed Mundell, bassist Jim Baglino, and drummer Bob Pantella, all of whom deserve credit for putting in much of their work while Wyndorf was recovering last year, provide all the right noise to capture Wyndorf's dirty rock fantasies on record. In exchange, Wyndorf provides them with enough memorable tunes to make the record a success.

Unsurprisingly for a band so rooted in their influences, Monster Magnet are a killer cover band (their takes on 'Evil is Going On' and 'Kick Out the Jams' compete with the originals), and 4-Way Diablo is graced with a bizarre, chamberlin and fuzz-bass heavy version of the Rolling Stones' '2000 Light Years from Home.' It is utterly hypnotic, and one of their best covers to date. But for a band that's so deeply rooted in the past, Monster Magnet are clearly focusing on the future. This is their first album since 1995 to not feature a re-recorded version of an older Magnet tune, and the album is paced so that it gets better as it goes along. The slide-heavy 'Solid Gold' is one of their best tunes, and the one-two ending of the skull-crushing 'Slap in the Face' and the Leonard Cohen-worthy 'Little Bag of Gloom' is nothing short of inspired. Wyndorf has stated that he still has much to record, given the time he took off between records, and from 4-Way Diablo it sounds like he's back in the saddle, and the best is yet to come.

Monster Magnet absolutely smokes live--observe...