Chicks, greasy long hair, bongs, the entire cosmos, bright red custom cars, killer robots and the sheer awesomeness of a guitar cranked up really high through an Orange amp; this is the world you need to buy into whole-heartedly to enjoy Atomic Bitchwax II. Let’s face it, this is no chore for me – stoner rock basically being one of my favourite brands of anything, in the whole history of anythingedness and as a responsible, clean-living, suit-wearing, bald, father of two it gives me vicarious jollies all the way.
I know you can include huge tranches of everyone’s favourite bands in the stoner category but I tend to use it in respect of those 90’s and later bands that I got into because I thought Monster Magnet had cool song titles (they do), so your basic desert rockers like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Nebula, Lowrider and the mighty Monster Magnet of course. Imagine my joy then when I discovered Monster Magnet’s guitarist Ed Mundell had a side project called Atomic Bitchwax on the go, in order to play more instrumental, groovier, less metal more rock music. I never quite got around to buying Atomic Bitchwax I, which has the totally awesome ‘Shitkicker’ on it but due to a bit of over-enthusiastic eBaying I own two copies of Atomic Bitchwax II, I’m really not proud of that one but haven’t got around to unloading the other copy yet.
Basically when you cue this LP up you’re in for some fast fret-burning groovy rock, opening instrumental ‘Ice Pick Freek’* being a great case in point. What I like about this record is that none of it is guitar wankery at all, it’s all in the service of the tune and groove and the rhythm section of Chris Kosnik and Keith Ackerman are there for far more than making up the numbers, they really drive these tracks. You have to love the heavily treated vocals on ‘Forty Five’ and groove to the Atomic Rooster cover, ‘Play The Game’.
My favourite track here is ‘Smokescreen’ which features an absolutely barn-storming guest spot from Warren Haynes (of Allman Brothers & Gov’t Mule fame) which is a wonderfully chilled out offering, with some great Billy Gbbons-style guitar slathered all over it managing to be both choppy and funky, yet simultaneously lyrical. It is a seriously excellent track and a worthy listen for any fan of stoner, or Southern rock. Elsewhere we get robot voices, swearing (always worth some 1537 bonus points) and a couple of great song titles, ‘Dishing Out a Heavy Dose of Tough Love’ and my favourite, the seriously heavy ‘Marching on The Skulls of the Dead’.
This is a definite genre album, there’s very little to attract floating voters here either you’ll have a stoner boner for it, or not. I hadn’t played more than the odd track off Atomic Bitchwax II for a couple of years and I was pleasantly surprised by it again this time around. Time to don my leather flares and fire up the Pontiac Cobra Space Cruiser.
315 Down.
*they’re spelling not miin…