Kingcrimsonprog
2001’s Madre De Dios was the second album from the Sweedish Stoner Rock band Dozer, an immensely talented and underrated band that any fan of the Stoner/Desert genre should investigate.
As well as sharing the line up, production crew and record location with its predecessor, stylistically Madre De Dios sits pretty similarly in the band’s catalogue as their debut album In The Trail Of A Comet did; a strong record with a lot of potential but before the band really hit it out of the park and became genre leaders instead of just another band. After this album, the songwriting quality, vocal talents and musicianship from Dozer would absolutely skyrocket and everything the band touch from the next album onwards is pure gold. Of course, this is not to say anything negative about the band’s first two albums other than that the band would get even better.
On its own merits, Madre De Dios is a good Stoner/Desert rock album, with a very clear and audible Kyuss influence. Tracks like ‘TX-9’ and ‘Earth Yeti’ are bound to delight fans of Kyuss and Monster Magnet’s more psychedelic sides, and the rest of the album consists of fairly pacey and upbeat rockers with fuzzy guitars and lots of low end.
With catchy choruses, a great lead guitar style and a solid production there is a lot to like about Madre De Dios. The album starts off fairly strong with the speedy ‘Let The Shit Roll’ but definitely gets better in the second half, with the album highlights being tracks like ‘Full Circle’ ‘Mono Impact’ and ‘Early Grace,’ which leave some clues as to where the band would go next.
Overall; this mightn’t be the first Dozer album which I’d recommend you pick up (that honour goes to Through The Eyes Of Heathens) but regardless, it is an undeniably good record for fans of the band and the genre and so, well worth your time if you already have a predisposition to enjoying it.