Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
November 27th 2013, House Of Blues Sunset Strip, West Hollywood CA: Unlike a lot of their peers, New Jersey stoner rockers Monster Magnet aren’t a band that tours relentlessly, so when they do decide to do a tour, it’s quite an event for fans. Currently, they are on a North American headline tour which follows the release of their ninth studio album ‘Last Patrol’ which came out via Napalm Records in October. Along with them, the tour is bringing Royal Thunder from Altlanta, Georgia and Anti-Mortem from Oklahoma to audiences across the continent. The tour made a stop at the House of Blues Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, and the crowd gathered here were excited in anticipation of witnessing two decades of New Jersey stoner rock being captured by Monster Magnet’s set.
To start things off, Anti-Mortem took the stage and played 25 minutes of some rather easily enjoyable and accessible biker rock. The boys from Oklahoma put in plenty of energy into their performance and laid down some nicely crafted guitar parts which was the standout feature of their overall solid musicianship. The vocalist announced the song ‘Words Of Wisdom’ as the single for their upcoming album, and I thought it was the best of this set, showcasing the band’s musicianship and on-stage personality, while also turning out to be an excellent representation of this sub-genre. These guys jumped on this tour almost at the last minute when German band Zodiac had to pull out due to visa issues, and they’re doing themselves no harm at all because their music is a great fit with that of Monster Magnet’s, and will definitely win them some new fans. There’s more of Anti-Mortem to see and hear in the near future, I’m sure.
Visit Anti-Mortem on the web:
Anti-Mortem.com
facebook.com/AntiMortemUSA
twitter.com/AntiMortemUSA
youtube.com/AntiMortemUSA
instagram.com/AntiMortemUSA
Next up was stoner/psychedelic/doom rock trio Royal Thunder from Atlanta, Georgia, a band I’ve been waiting for an eternity to see live, and despite the fact that they’ve toured plenty in recent times, strangely enough I had to keep missing their shows. While Royal Thunder have done numerous shows with like-minded bands like Kylesa, Baroness, Pallbearer and Enslaved to name a few, they’ve certainly not been afraid to open for bands completely unlike them. They’ve displayed the audacity to open for a band like The Dillinger Escape Plan, and this tour of theirs with Monster Magnet can also be put in the latter category as there’s really not much in common between Royal Thunder and Monster Magnet’s music.
The band played a 45-minute set with a selection of tunes from their solitary full-length release ‘CVI’, along with a couple of new songs. I adore the CVI album deeply and even today, more than 18 months after its release it still remains in my music rotation. To hear four of its songs ‘Whispering World’, ‘Sleeping Witch’, ‘Minus’ and ‘Black Water Vision’ was extremely enjoyable and each one came across as an edgier and more emotional rendition of its recorded version. The new songs were very interesting as well, showcasing a definitely progress and development in the band’s songwriting. Guitarist Josh Weaver and drummer Evan Diprima executed their roles to perfection, specially Josh with some guitar fills on the CVI songs that aren’t on the album. Even with Mlny ill, Royal Thunder put on a very expressive, emotional and compelling performance, and I can only imagine how amazing they would be with Mlny in good health. My only criticism is the absence of the song ‘No Good’ which would have injected some pace into an otherwise down-tempo set. If you’re a hardcore Monster Magnet fan, you may or may not enjoy Royal Thunder, but if you’re going to any of the upcoming shows on this tour, it’s worthwhile to get there early enough to catch Royal Thunder.
Visit Royal Thunder on the web:
RoyalThunder.BandCamp.com
facebook.com/RoyalThunderMusic
twitter.com/RoyalThunderATL
At 10 o’ clock, the members of Monster Magnet walked onto the stage one by one. With no bombastic intro music and no buildup whatsoever, they kept it simple from the get go, and that theme continued throughout their set as it was all about the music, albeit with a fitting backdrop of visual patterns projected on to a screen behind the drumkit. Their approach was very laid-back, and the same atmosphere was created amidst this crowd as well, with this set turning out to be more of a performance you could stand and bask in rather than rock out or mosh to. But frontman Dave Wyndorf compensated for that to a large extent by bringing his madman-like personality to the stage, pumping up the crowd every time he interacted with them. Their set consisted of eleven tunes including crowd favorites like ‘Powertrip’ and ‘Space Lord’, new songs ‘End Of Time’ and ‘Last Patrol’, along with carefully selected material from the rest of their discography, providing an apt representation of their career and pleasing the cult fan-base of theirs that had gathered here at the House of Blues. For the most part, Monster Magnet have been a low-key, low-profile band throughout their career, but for genuine fans of heavy rock music, this performance made for a good time.
For a band playing this kind of music, they certainly have a greater degree of depth and variation as compared to most others in the sub-genre, with some extremely long compositions and an undeniable element of psychedelia coming not only from the length of these tunes but also from the visuals that went with the music. Besides, their live musicianship leaves room for improvisation and for fans it’s almost a guarantee that they’ll see a slightly different Monster Magnet set every time. Overall, this was a show worth the wait for the band’s Los Angeles fan base. Even if you’re not familiar with the band at all, I’d highly recommend you to go check out Monster Magnet if and when they come to your town.
Visit Monster Magnet on the web:
ZodiacLung.com
facebook.com/MonsterMagnet
twitter.com/MonsterMagnetNJ
Set List:
1. Nod Scene
2. Dopes to Infinity
3. Twin Earth
4. Look to Your Orb for the Warning
5. End Of Time
6. Spine of God / American Pie
7. Crop Circle
8. Powertrip
9. Space Lord
10.Last Patrol
11.Tractor
Remaining tour dates:
11/29: Tempe, AZ @ Club Red
11/30: Albuquerque, NM @ Launch Pad
12/2: Austin, TX @ Red 7
12/3: Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds
12/4: Dallas, TX @ Trees
12/6: Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
12/7: Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southend
12/8: Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Sound Stage
12/10: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
12/12: Boston, MA @ Sinclair
12/13: West Chester, PA @ The Note
12/14: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom