*keepers-2*avg-2.92
Never thought I'd see the day when the space rock torch-bearers would resemble Uncle Tupelo, but the opening title song resembles a barn-burning more than afterburner. On "Wall Of Fire" Wyndorff has officially become Paul Stanley, and much worse, "You're Alive" sounds like the most generic Rob Zombie with the riff from Collective Soul's "Gel" thrown in, a sound that went out with Beavis & Butthead. Maybe I should take the hint that only every other Monster Magnet album has been decent for awhile now, but it is still a disappointment that this sounds like another God Says No, where "Blow Your Mind" would be right at home. In this context "Cyclone"**** is a blast from the past, with a slow, hypnotic riff a residual from Superjudge. The cover of the Stones' "2000 Light Years From Home"**** would be more interesting if it strayed farther from the original, but they still sound like they were meant to play it. The rest of the album isn't particularly bad, where the cool slat-back riff and spacey lyrics of "A Thousand Stars" has some of the old other-worldly-ness, and "No Vacation" at least tries for the band's full menace potential, but the "feed that vampire, jump in the reactor, and melt away" are too nonsensical even for this genre, and the rest of the songs are just boring. "I'm Calling You" is just a rehash of "Baby Gotterdammerung", "Freeze & Pixillate" another generic instrumental, while "Solid Gold" and "Slap In The Face" might as well be late-Kiss. After these derivative duds the closing highland dirge "Little Bag Of Gloom" is out of left field in a good way, but is too little too late.
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