Psychedelic hard rock veterans, Monster Magnet, return with the announcement of an impending covers album, and present a first example off it; a solid Sabbath-esque rocker originally from 1972 by psych hard rock band, Poobah.
A Better Dystopia comes out in its entirety on May 21st, 2021, through Napalm Records, and will be featuring Monster Magnet's take on tracks by Hawkwind, Table Scraps, Dust, Morgen, The Scientists, J.D. Blackfoot, Jerusalem and more, and everything about it, from the song selections to the bite of the first single, looks rather promising.
Dave Wyndorf pens a long statement on the coming of A Better Dystopia:
“We all agreed that we would be bored out of our minds within a month of lockdown. MONSTER MAGNET loves the road. It’s a lifestyle. So, I considered our options. Rather than panhandle on the internet, hawking masks and Zoom-rocking practice sessions for dollars, I suggested we record a 'bunker record'. A total DIY affair (band only) recorded and mixed in Bob Pantella’s small but potent Freak Shop Studios/rehearsal space right here in New Jersey. But what to record?
I didn’t feel much like writing, but working on anything was better than watching the news as hospitals filled up, people died, and American politics went bat-shit crazy. The world roared 'Dystopia! Apocalypse! Revolution!'. I’d heard those words before, and they brought to mind my childhood in the late 60’s/early 70’s… and the music… and short playlist of songs (just one of many) that I’d been carrying around with me on my whatever device to listen to before shows. Of course, these tunes have also been in my head for more or less my whole life. These were not the popular hits of the time. This was like a playlist from the 4th dimension… strange bits of musical obscurity, mostly dredged up from that inglorious and freaky 'twilight zone' time that preceded Arena Rock, Heavy Metal, Reggae and Disco. A no-man’s land of hard rock that still had remnants of psychedelia and garage punk but had abandoned any notion of “flower power” or frat house fun. And of course, they rocked.
Yeah, these songs were it.”
Their strong rendition of Poobah's Mr. Destroyer comes with a nice visualizer, offering a first impression of the album's verve.
Wyndorf concludes: “The great bands whose music we lovingly interpret here were (and some still are) on the fringe, underrated, and in our opinion, really, really cool. I think that’s reason enough for us to do this album. Furthermore, A Better Dystopia is a collection of songs that I think reflect (knowingly or unknowingly) a paranoid time in history, but also deflect that same paranoia by owning it, fully. And of course, it ROCKS.”
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