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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
10 stars - nothing more than a masterpiece!, November 15, 2003
This record can just be described in one word. Perfect. It has everything that a ultimate stoner record should have; fuzzed-out guitars and bass, excelent drumming, lyrics about cars and the space and at last the hooks. It is almost unbelievable that a band can be so melodical and yet so extremely heavy. The spirit of Black Sabbath is easily found in here in the catchy riffs but there is no rip-offs to see at all. The sound is too heavy and there is a sort of fuzzed garage-feeling in here that is not to be found in any sabbath-record. Singer Scott Hill's voice is also one of the things that i love with this record. It feels like it's almost used as an instrument because of the contrast with the light touch in the background compared to the huge fuzzed-out distortion wall. Clean vocals in the background is nowadays almost a must in a stoner band and that is only one proof of how much Fu Manchu affected the modern stoner.
To sum up i just wanted to say that this is one of my favourite albums of all time and one of very few CD's in a collection of nearly 500 records that don't include a single weak song. Persons concentrated on the lysics will maybe find them disappointing when they only about driving fast and to get lost in space. but for me it's just another thing that sets the feelings when you are listening to them. the lysics are not supposed to be about changing the world, only to walk around careless in california and think careless thoughts. So...here is my personal rating, song by song.1. Regal Begal - 9/10 Great opening track, sets the mood with a catchy and classic riff. short song but very good. 2. Missing Link - 9/10 Another ultra-heavy but yet catchy riff. It is also packed with great guitar solos. One of the most memorable song on the record. 3. Alphalt Risin' - 10/10 Faster than the two first songs and the second best on the entire record. Excelent solos and a riff that almost makes me dance. 4. Neptune's Convoy - 9/10 Slow and spaced-out song with a calm bass-line in the verses that leads to a slow but very heavy chorus. in the end of the song, they speed up the tempo to one of the cathiest pieces of stoner of all time. 5. Redline - 8/10 Fast and short song with a great riff. maybe feels like a sort of filler but a very good one though. 6. Cyclone Launch - 9/10 The name fits the song perfectly. I can imagine that be blown away by a cyclone should hve the same effect as the extremely heavy intro riff. overall a great song with nice solos. 7. Strato-Streak - 10/10 The best song on the records. It has everything that a rock tune should have; the solos, great and heavy riffs, psychadelic passages and lysics about the space(hehe). Completely mindblowing. 8. Solid Hex - 9/10 Also a very good and one of the faster songs, amongst the best on the record. very simple but it is short so it doesn't gets boring. 9. The Falcon Has Landed - 9/10 The heaviest and overall the slowest song on the album, almost sludgy. A real mind-crusher! 10 - Seahag - 7/10 If I have to pick a song that is my least-favourite, it should by this one. not that it isn't good...it is simply not as good as the other songs on here. 11. The Bargain - 8/10 A really cool tune. there is no distortion on here, just spaced out rythms and solos. The reason why I put a eight on it is the fact that it doesn't really seems to fit in here. 12. Supershooter - 9/10 A song in the same style as The Falcon Has Landed with a slow and sludgy riff. This song is a bit faster though. An essential stoner record in the class of Monster Magnet's "Spine of God", Orange Goblin's "The Big Black", Atomic Bitchwax' self titles album and Acid King's "Busse Woods"!!!
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by Fu Manchu 
