Customer Reviews

Signs Of Infinite Power [+Digital Booklet]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Fu Manchu, old and new. Even Start The Machine gets a lot of playtime in my car.

Signs of Infinite Power sounds like the Fu I love: the crunchy guitars, low-fi drums and monotone singing -- but something is missing. The songwriting and hooks don't reach out and grab like the other albums. At first listen I kept waiting, track after track, for this album to click in... but it never did. It's not terrible, but at the same time this isn't hopeful for the future of the band. And it's certainly not an album that's going to win any new fans.

Maybe after repeated listenings SoIP will grow on me? I hope so, because I can't explain what happened here and I hope this isn't the start of the end for the mighty Fu Manchu.

I'm stunned at the amount of backlash this album is getting... its a very good Fu Manchu album!

The thing about Fu Manchu is this, they pretty much stick to the same sound. The people may change, but, like Motorhead, the sound remains basically the same. So when you get a Fu Manchu album, if you have anything else they've done you can pretty much guess what the other stuff sounds like.

So when ranking a new Fu Manchu album as being "good" or "bad," it isn't really contingent on the album being "original" so much as being an album full of high quality Fu Manchu songs.

And in that regard, this is a fine entry into their catalog. The production is top notch, as seismic and heavy as you'd hope it to be when turned up really loud. The songs themselves are a nice combination of fine hooks and totally killer riffs (the riff in the title track is like "Sweat Leaf" but better!!!). The groove is deep and generates much head bobbing from me while listening.

All in all, its what you want from a Fu album. It continues the near flawless streak they started with "King Of The Road." From that album and beyond, I've found every album to be fairly similar, but also fairly perfect.

Fu Manchu is a killer band and "Signs Of Infinite Power" does nothing but add to their already impressive discography.

I actually am enjoying this album. At least it has the old fuzz sound back again. To me this is the best thing they have done since California Crossing. The last two albums and various ep's have just not really cut it. This is return to form with two or three stand out tracks that will fit nicely into their set list for years to come. It aint "In Search Of..." or "King Of The Road" but it has them travelling in that direction again. If you are a Fu fan, you will enjoy this album.

This is another solid effort from Scott Hill, and Co. The songs are well-executed and played with plenty of energy. As for the "Garbage"
commentary above, c'mon, Fu Manchu are what they are, and no one does this particular niche of music better. What did you expect, a powerpop masterpiece? As with all of their records, great or just good, turn it up and enjoy. Don't miss them on their current tour.

The title track, "Webfoot Witch Hat" and a couple others get a lot of play in my car. I despise the "We Must Obey" album and am sorry I bought it, this feels like a real return to form to me. I was a little hesitant at first to grab this, but it is really riff-heavy in a clean way, like a cross between "California Crossing" and "Start The Machine". Of course, I liked "Start The Machine" which seems to put me in the minority here, so...
Bottom line, the album is great. I agree with the unanimous consensus that the cover art is excrement, though.

i'm new to this band and have been focusing on their earlier albums which i love. i was skeptical about this album based on the reviews here so i stayed away. i found it for sale locally and picked it up anyway and here is what i think: don't listen to what people are saying. true, it may not be as california-stoner-van sounding as earlier efforts but on it's own, it kicks some major ass. it is more metal than their older stuff but after my third listen i'm diggin it, and sounds cooler than any 'nu metal' u can name. 'steel beast defeated' rocks so hard...'el busta' is very cool, 'signs of infinite power rocks', 'gargantuan march' reminds me of anthrax...dudes, this album is worth buying.

I've been a fan of this band since the album "The Action Is Go" when I first heard the song Evil Eye on the radio and I've been in love with this band ever since. Fu Manchu is one of those bands that have been doing their thing for years and they don't change for anyone and I love that about some bands. "Signs Of Infinite Power" continues to add to their beautiful catalog. One thing I must say is I'm so happy that they brought back the fuzz sound of old. That's the one thing that has lacked over the past albums since "California Crossing" I'm very surprised by all the negative reviews this album has gotten, I just don't get it. I believe that this is their best work since "King Of The Road" which was released 10 years ago. It's fuzzy, crunchy and head bobbing Fu Manchu! How can you go wrong? I loved the whole album but some of my favorite tracks on here are...

#2 Steel.Beast.Defeated.
#4 Webfoot Witch Hat
#5 El Busta
#6 Signs Of Infinite Power
#7 Eyes x10
#8 Gargantuan March
#10 One Step Too Far

3rd disappointment. New fans, don't waste your time purchasing this release. Like the other review, you should buy the older 90's releases. Long time fans I guess will need to keep the Fu Manchu catalog current. Perhaps Fu Manchu should take a note from the Rolling Stones, just tour and play your old songs, the new releases are a waste of time and money. The new tracks are garbage, the best tracks they've had the last 5-6 years were covers. That being said they are awesome live, Fu Manchu has its best line up ever for live shows, they just can't create anything new, certainly won't be looking to "Signs of Infinite Power, We must Obey, or Start the Machine" tracks being played in 10 years.