Kingcrimsonprog Mindfucker is the tenth proper full-length studio album (if you aren’t counting redux albums and compilations). It was released on Napalm Records and released in 2018, 5 years after Last Patrol, which was the longest gap the band have had between albums to date, but the line-up stayed the same as last time.

To my mind, Monster Magnet have never made a bad album. Even their least popular album, 4-Way Diablo has my favourite ever Monster Magnet song (‘Wall Of Fire’) on it. But I do have to say that this album has been out for over half a year now and try as I might, I just can’t get into it.

Now there’s nothing majorly wrong with it per sae. It is well produced. The songs are pleasant. Nothing overstays its welcome. Nothing is bad or stupid. Nothing sounds wrong or doesn’t fit the band’s style. Everything is functional. But that’s it.

Usually, there are major moments to write home about. There are usually lyrics that make me want to tell my friends about. There are usually riffs that I want to air guitar to. There are usually inventive things the band haven’t done before. There’s usually more joy in the performance. Generally, there’s usually…more.

That’s not to say the album is worthless, ‘Brainwashed’ for example is very fun, and sounds like its tapping into the same jangly ’60s influence that ‘Dreaming Of You’ by The Coral is, only faster. ‘Want Some’ has some energy to it and would be your typical Monster Magnet rocker that they have pumping out since the fifth album. The opener and the title track are passable too.

The thing is though, its not enough. Its just an ok album. Perfectly fine. If it was your first Monster Magnet album you’d probably like it. But then when you get the other records, and you hear ‘Kiss Of The Scorpion,’ or ‘See You In Hell’ or ‘Black Balloon’ afterwards, then you’d probably shit a brick! ”Wow, how did that ok band release such amazing material!?” you would find yourself asking.

If you love the band and have to have everything they put out. Sure get it. If you just want to support the band and keep them on the road, get it. If you have limited funds and can only afford to buy the best, then maybe skip this particular entry in the history of the bull god. This band have released some of the best material in the genre ever, and you should start with their better material first.

Warthur Monster Magnet are one of the major groups in a particular stand of stoner rock that leans a bit more on the mainstream hard rock side of the equation and doesn't go in so deep on the doom metal and psychedelic influences of the subgenre; the analogy I'd make is that they are a bit more like Queens of the Stone Age than they are like Kyuss. Dopes to Infinity is a competent selection of tracks which will certainly get your blood pumping if you're into that sort of thing, but is nowhere near as tripped-out and spacey as the cover art might lead you to believe.

Kingcrimsonprog Monster Magnet's 2007 4-Way Diablo album has something of a bad reputation among a large section of the band's fans. Its often a toss up as to whether this, or the album which preceded it, is considered the band's worst ever album.

At the same time however, it was considered by a few fans and critics as more of a return to their early sound. That's not exactly 100% accurate in my opinion, there are certainly a few songs on here like `Cyclone' and their cover of The Rolling Stone's `2000 Lightyears From Home' that have a psychedelic touch to them, but the majority of the album is smooth, perfectly formed hard rock music just as it was on the equally disliked Monolithic Baby album.

At the end of the day, music is all about personal opinion, but I feel that maybe some people may dislike this album more out of its musical direction than the actual quality of the music on the disc. If you are the sort of fan who thinks that the band sold out after Spine Of God, or think the band have been going downhill generally, then this probably isn't going to blow your mind.

In my personal opinion however, I think this is a marvelous record. I like all the different eras of Monster Magnet, and don't think they've ever made a dull record. I've listened to this album dozens and dozens of times, and it has added a few songs to my list of all time Monster Magnet favourites.

The absolutely catchy and exciting `Wall Of Fire,' the dour and moody `Little Bag Of Gloom' and the aforementioned `Cyclone' are all fantastic songs, that display Dave Wyndorf's brilliant voice, lyrics and general personality. Even if you skip the record, you should probably check those songs out on their own.

As a whole album though, there's not much in the way of filler or out-of-place material. Everything is finely crafted, catchy rock with a memorable chorus and a clear production. I suppose for the nay-sayers that's very much the problem; some people only want Monster Magnet to be one thing, and this album sees them doing another one. For me, they do this other direction so well that I can listen to this, then listen to the classic material, and simply enjoy them both.

Overall; I really like 4-Way Diablo and listen to it fairly often, it works as a whole and has a few absolute stand out tracks too. It even features some of Dave's best melodic clean vocals to date. Don't be too put off by the negative reputation that the album has unless you are normally the kind of person to only like a band's earliest work. If you've got a fairly open mind regarding band's changing styles, and want some fun, well produced, personality filled, slightly commercialized Stoner Rock then this is a nice addition to your collection.

Kingcrimsonprog Mastermind is the eighth full-length studio album by the legendary New Jersey Stoner Rock band Monster Magnet. It was released in 2010 and is seen as something of a return to form by many fans as it is one of the band’s genuinely best albums to date, despite having been released so chronologically far from their early work.

Stylistically speaking, Mastermind is the heaviest, hardest and doomiest Monster Magnet album to date and there is a very clear Black Sabbath influence on display on a lot of the tracks, most of which are mid-paced or even slow. There is still variety to be found however; there are two tracks of jangly chord bashing towards the album’s close, two very intense atmospheric build ups and two faster songs just after the album opens up that raise the tempo in an energetic fashion before the album settles back down into its doomy groove, as well as a third halfway through that shakes you up and stops you getting complacent. Singer and primary songwriter Dave Wyndorf has consistently been one of the genre’s finest ever lyricists, to the point where it is one of the band’s distinguishing features, and this album is far from a disappointment in that regard. As usual; interesting observations, black humour and some almost depressing philosophical points all mix together in well-written and mutli-faceted songs that reward repeat-listening.

When this is combined with the variety of vocal approaches from bluesy drawls and spacey pronouncements to metallic roars by way of sly and sarcastic punk deliveries and the occasional melody, it makes for a brilliant album that you can listen to a lot without getting bored, in which you can discover something new every time and which should be at least considered for a place in any fan’s collection. This is not the sound of a band phoning it in, it is a band charged up and really laying into it hard.

Its not all super heavy riffs and biker metal production though; the band still incorporate some of the psychedelic sounding guitar effects and additional percussion from the early stuff and touches of electronics from the mid-period material, albeit very subtly, into the hard rock based music. In some ways Mastermind is unlike any other Monster Magnet album due to the precise ratio of its influences and approaches to songwriting and yet in other ways its kind of like the summation of their entire career since it mixes it all together.

Highlights include the Nine Inch Nails-esque ‘Time Machine’ which has some genuinely beautiful guitar, as well as the energetic and lyrically superb ‘Bored With Sorcery’ and the doomy ‘When Planes Fall Out Of The Sky,’ which boasts some of the album’s heaviest riffs.

Overall, Mastermind is one of the best Monster Magnet albums available, no caveat. Its certainly the one with the best reputation in a long time, and although I personally think that the band never got bad, it still gives off those feelings of reaffirmation that all the best comeback albums do.

Its just got a certain inexplicable spark both of creativity and power and I’d highly recommend that any old fans who’ve given up on the band check it out and see if it wins them back.

Basically though, if you like Monster Magnet at all you should probably try this out, especially if you like their heavier stuff. If you are a new fan its definitely not a bad place to start either, although maybe try it in conjunction with a ‘classic’ as well, because they’re definitely the kind of band where hearing one album wouldn’t be enough to really ‘get’ what the band are all about.

Kingcrimsonprog New Jersey’s Monster Magnet are one of the pioneering names in Stoner Rock and their 1991(Germany)/1992(USA) debut studio album Spine Of God was one of the first ever commercially available albums in the genre.

Beyond simply being released early, Spine Of God is a hugely influential and well-respected album that no Monster Magnet fan should be without. Although the production isn’t as strong as their following albums, stylistically the album feels almost like a lost album from the 70s, which is supported by the raw production in addition to the bands mixing of Classic, Space, Prog and Psychedelic rock stylings.

The Psychedelic influences in particular are really strong, more so than on any of the band’s subsequent releases. The music is hypnotic, layered and is awash with numerous effects and consequently the sound is as hazy and drugged-out as Dave himself purports to be in the lyrics.

Dave Wyndorf’s strong voice and impressive vocal range is what most Monster Magnet fans find appealing and the strange and amusing lyrics are interesting as always, even at this early stage in their career.

Highlights include The Title Track, which comes across in the same dark foreboding psychedelic mood as Pink Floyd’s ‘Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun’ only filtered through a 1990s perspective as well as ‘Sin’s A Good Man’s Brother,’ which is a Grand Funk Railroad cover song and the harder rocking ‘Snake Dance,’ which sounds somewhat of a taster of things to come for the band’s next album SuperJudge.

Overall, Spine Of God is a genre classic and if you like Monster Magnet or indeed any other bands on the Stoner/Desert Rock end of the spectrum such as Sleep, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch, Sheavy, Dozer or Orange Goblin, then it really is something that you ought to consider trying out.