Monster Magnet's 1991 release Spine of God is a crushing mix of stoner/doom rock and psychedelia, kind of like hearing Black Sabbath through a heavy cloud of pot smoke with the the strobe lights and lava lamps turned up high. Rather than the long-form spacey jams heard on Tab, Spine of God features thick and heavy fuzz guitars, pounding rhythms, and plenty of husky vocals from David Wyndorf. In fact, Wyndorf and John McBain make for a formidable guitar team here, laying down plenty of Sabba-fied riffage on songs like "Pill Shovel", "Nod Scene", and the pulsating, 8-minute groove monster "Black Mastermind", complete with plenty of meaty power chords and distortion laced 70's styled heavy rock solos.
After the pop-meets-psychedelic "Zodiac Lung" , the band launches into the maniacal title track, a bruising mix of sludge-ridden metal not unlike Danzig with 60's rock ala The Doors or The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. "Snake Dance" is raunchy sleaze metal at its best, and the Magnets pump out a rocking, super-fuzzed out cover of the Grand Funk Railroad classic "Sin's A Good Man's Brother". The album ends on a calmer note with the soaring psychedelic gem "Ozium", complete with lilting guitar chords, emotional vocals, and trippy, keyboard-like effects.
Basically, Spine of God is a stoner rock classic, an album that took it's influence from some great bands of the 70's but also opened up the doors for a lot of newer groups that followed in its wake in the early 90's. It really signaled the arrival of Monster Magnet, and is still heralded as one of the bands best albums to this day.
Track Listing
1. Pill Shovel
2. Medicine
3. Nod Scene
4. Black Mastermind
5. Zodiac Lung
6. Spine Of God
7. Snake Dance
8. Sin's A Good Man's Brother
9. Ozium
10. Ozium (bonus demo version)
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