4x****
With the album that put Monster Magnet somewhere on the map, the title song**** kicks off convincingly enough with the right amount of Sabbath. MTV hit "Negasonic Teenage Warhead"**** is more poppy psychedelia, and apparently was hooky enough for the big time. "Look To Your Orb for the Warning" derails at the almost Bon Jovi-Wanted-Dead-Or-Alive choruses. "All Friends and Kingdom Come"**** is heavily spacey, in both sound and the quasi-mystical god-complex lyrics that Dave delivers so nicely. Unfortunately the strings of power chords in instrumentals "Ego, the Living Planet" and "Masterburner" are rather underwhelming without these grandiose lyrical touches. "Blow Em Off" is one of the low key acoustic songs that don't really go anywhere - MM needs to just stop doing them. "Third Alternative", the album's centerpiece does have a extremely minimalist and hypnotic verse riff that brings a cool dynamic when performed live, but it goes far too long and repetitive to sit through all 8:34. "I Control, I Fly" is a good bit of pumped-up Stooges, and "King Of Mars"**** also a strong tom-heavy ditty (later re-recorded on Monolithic Baby). "Dead Christmas" is an at least partially descriptive semi-garage, and closing "Vertigo" pounds out its monotonous chord to the boring end of the album.
With the album that put Monster Magnet somewhere on the map, the title song**** kicks off convincingly enough with the right amount of Sabbath. MTV hit "Negasonic Teenage Warhead"**** is more poppy psychedelia, and apparently was hooky enough for the big time. "Look To Your Orb for the Warning" derails at the almost Bon Jovi-Wanted-Dead-Or-Alive choruses. "All Friends and Kingdom Come"**** is heavily spacey, in both sound and the quasi-mystical god-complex lyrics that Dave delivers so nicely. Unfortunately the strings of power chords in instrumentals "Ego, the Living Planet" and "Masterburner" are rather underwhelming without these grandiose lyrical touches. "Blow Em Off" is one of the low key acoustic songs that don't really go anywhere - MM needs to just stop doing them. "Third Alternative", the album's centerpiece does have a extremely minimalist and hypnotic verse riff that brings a cool dynamic when performed live, but it goes far too long and repetitive to sit through all 8:34. "I Control, I Fly" is a good bit of pumped-up Stooges, and "King Of Mars"**** also a strong tom-heavy ditty (later re-recorded on Monolithic Baby). "Dead Christmas" is an at least partially descriptive semi-garage, and closing "Vertigo" pounds out its monotonous chord to the boring end of the album.
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