Description
Expecting Monster Magnet to change from art-sludge-psych monsters into sweet cuddlebunnies from album to album clearly demonstrates a loss of reason. Wyndorf himself doesn't need to worry about losing his reason in particular, given how psychotically entertaining his band already is, and Dopes to Infinity is about as far apart from Superjudge as the original Siamese twins were to each other. Maybe "Dopeheads to Infinity" would have been the better title, but as the title track fires up into another rampage of excessively flanged guitar, storming lead riff, and steady drum stomp, all criticisms get left behind along with any sort of sanity. Wyndorf's singing is a touch crisper in the mix this time out, while the guitar playing is even more powerfully direct and epic amidst all the space-out swirl and rockets to the moon. It's the secret weapon of the album as a whole, turning Monster Magnet's gift for the large scale into something that's almost uplifting, often connecting with a listener instead of dominating one. That Mellotron ("Look to the Orb for the Warning") and strings (the acoustic guitar-led "Blow 'Em Off") are evident along with the sitars, folky strums, and similar acid quease of past albums only makes sense as a result. Then again, songs like "Ego, the Living Planet" and "Theme From 'Masterburner'" do a great job at sounding like Thor battling Galacticus for control of the universe -- no puny humans allowed. Lead single "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" became a minor hit, all the more surprising given how the band's idea of a commercial single features more processed guitar backing Wyndorf on the verses than the law normally allows. The catchy chug and scream of the chorus helps nail it, though, showing that Wyndorf can find the balance between his extreme and less-so sides when desired. Ned Raggett.
Product Details
- Artist
- Monster Magnet
- Recording Environment
- Studio
- Label / Studio
- UNI / A&M
- Run Time (minutes)
- 62
- Media Content Format
- Album
- Original year of release
- 1995
- Media Format
- Audio CD
- Year of release
- 2003
- Number of Discs
- 1
- SPARS Code
- AAD
- Cast & Crew
- Monster Magnet (Music Performer)
- Dave Wyndorf (Producer)
- Steve Rosenthal (Producer)
- Joe Warda (Sound Engineer)
- Steve Rosenthal (Sound Engineer)
Press Reviews
- Rating: A-
...Monster Magnet's fourth album is the mother lode for those who crave maximum psychedelic overload. Jammed with leftover Black Sabbath riffs, Butthole Surfers-style bombast, and pseudo-comic hokum, DOPES is simultaneously sublime and ridiculous... Entertainment Weekly (3/24/95, p.64)
...Other bands...have done this kind of mind bending mania well, but in the '90s, Monster Magnet has a corner on the market--and they do it with an accesibility that their forefathers lacked. If this quartet had existed 30 years ago, maybe the revolution really would have happened... Option (9-10/95, p.122)
Tracklisting
Disc 1:
-
Dopes to Infinity
-
Negasonic Teenage Warhead
-
Look to Your Orb for the Warning
-
All Friends and Kingdom Come
-
Ego, the Living Planet
-
Blow 'Em Off
-
Third Alternative
-
I Control, I Fly
-
King of Mars
-
Dead Christmas
-
Theme from "Masterburner"
-
Vertigo
