June 16, 1998 by A.S. Van Dorston

Take one shot of Motor City Madness (Amboy Dukes, MC5, Stooges, Alice Cooper, “Detroit Rock City”), one part space madness (Lemmy Kilmeister-era Hawkwind, teutonic space rock) and a jigger of stoner cultuh (bongs bolted to the floor of the tour van, blacklight posters, hobbit-addled lyrics, Spinal Tap), shake vigorously with a shot of Blue Cheer, and you’ve got the best 90s metal band in America.

While some prefer the sonic sludge of early songs like “Pill Shovel” and “Nod Scene” from 1992’s Spine Of God, I truly enjoyed Superjudge, with the best post-cock rock riffage since The Cult’s Electric. They refined their sound somewhat in 1995 with Dopes To Infinity, and Powertrip is more of the same. But goddam is it fun or what? This time around they are either preparing to become rockstars, or poking vicious fun at those who are, with their readymade radio promotion kit disguised as a bonus CD. It contains a funny radio ad intro to Monster Magnet, a collage of samples from the album, and closes with a censored version (deja vu!) of their awesome cover of MC5’s “Kick Out The Jams” (muthafuckas!). And if that ain’t enough, their sleeve art is even more camped out, with pictures of a pope, bishop and nuns cowering as a member bursts out from flames in a vintage chevy convertable bookmarked by busty waitresses.

Other photos features the women dressed up in slutty security guard uniforms as a member lounges on a pile of gold bricks, and another where one is standing atop of a pile of skulls with Philadelphia burning in the background, and another with Wyndorf himself presiding over a dinner table full of demons. Like Urge Overkill, they’re trying to become rockstars by acting like rockstars. Except Monster Magnet are WAY cooler and truly have a sense of humor about it. Miss Big Chief and Soundgarden? Order a Monster Magnet sandwich with extra reverb. You won’t be disappointed.