Monster Magnet

As one reviewer once wrote, 'This music is ghastly and not for the faint of heart' and he meant that in a good way. This is not the psychedelia of your weird old Uncle Paul (you know, the one no one in the family will talk about). Monster Magnet, if not the sole creator of 'stoner rock', they are certainly one of its primary proponents; glaring, leather clad and savage, the band pumps out the distorted tone equivalent of nuclear waste, winking at the audience all the while operating under a thick cloud of mace-tinged menace. Simply put, they have an overabundant supply of sheer oddity and delight in creating a never ending, fist shaking, tribal dance that encourages a Mad Max style Armageddon.

The end of days on heavy pharmaceuticals.

Monster Magnet was essentially the brainchild of front man Dave Wyndorf, a musician of less than stellar success. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, Wyndorf was one of eight children. He has always claimed that his major influences were the record collection of his older brother and for seeing a UFO with his sister and his mother and seeing a Hawkwind concert in New York City as a child. He was also a huge fan of comic books as a young man, staying a fan even as he began to mature and started to experiment with sex and drugs. By the time he was 14, Wyndorf was selling pot. By the age of twenty, Wyndorf had 'graduated' to hallucinogenics and cocaine. Shortly after his 21st birthday, he added 'alcoholic' to his resume.

However, as a teenager, Wyndorf was also a huge music fan and had began seeking a band as a vocalist. He was invited by Phil Caivano to become to lead singer for his band Hard Attack. Hard Attack morphed into Shrapnel, a hard core punk outfit that became somewhat celebrated to punk fans. They entertained their audience by playing LOUD, in your face punk while wearing full camouflage. They screamed about fighting in Vietnam, would run back and forth around the venue and on certain evenings they would launch themselves into their audience. Regardless of the club, they always threw themselves full scale into their stage antics. The band played the legendary CBGB's nightclub in New York City (perhaps the most famous punk club in the world at the time), cut a 45 and produced their own EP before imploding. To the serious hard-core punk fan, Shrapnel remains legendary. When Shrapnel collapsed, Wyndorf gave up on music, for a time anyway.

He began teaching himself guitar and a short time later, hooked up with a local New Jersey band, Dog Of Mystery, an experimental 'noise' outfit fronted by drummer/vocalist Tim Cronin and guitarist John McBain. Wyndorf was invited to sit in with Conin and McBain for a few live shows which began to extend to a steady gig. Dogs, like so many bands during their early days, had a revolving door for various sidemen but eventually the band added Calandra and Kleinman as their rhythm section.

The band went through a series of name changes, going from Dog Of Mystery, Wrath Of The Bull God and Airport '75 before finally settling in on Monster Magnet. According to various interviews, the band's name stemmed from a toy that Wyndorf had loved as a child (made by Hasbro, the Monster Magnet was a large U- shaped magnet forming a a pair of outstretched arms with a devils head in the middle). Monster Magnet's early sound was primal; heavy feedback and filled with haunting, gut wrenching screaming.

At an early gig, while opening for Janes Addiction, the band launched into a 45 minute instrumental version of Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' to a thunder-stunned audience. After the set, a roadie approached Wyndorf and allegedly told him that Monster Magnet was 'drug rock' and, according to legend, the tag stuck.

Cronin decided to step back from the microphone and turned the vocal duties over to Wyndorf who adapted easily to the front spot. With Wyndorf at the helm, Cronin accepted the role as their consultant and light tech. Wyndorf began to write furiously, extending his blurred and chemically altered lyrical vision onto paper. Magnet produced a handful of 45's and a few underground cassette tapes before managing to release a 6 track EP on Germany's Glitterhouse Records. The EP was a hit in Europe and the band laid the foundation for a strong European fan base that continues on to this day.

The EP was noticed by independent label Caroline Records which then released Magnet's first album Spine of God, a record that is credited with being the first stoner rock record. Another EP was released shortly thereafter and the band was finding themselves to being an underground success.

Magnet signed with A&M Records and in 1993 released their major label debut, Superjudge (named after the famed 1971 GTO). By the time of Superjudge McBain had left the band and had been replaced by Ed Mundell as their lead guitarist. The band took a step back from their fork in the outlet feedback sound and beginning to focus more on Wyndorf's lyrical comic book, space alien, sex, drugs and rock and roll send up.

Their follow up album, Dopes To Infinity, (often called Wyndorf's tribute to Led Zepplin's Physical Graffiti) contained the single 'Negasonic Teenage Warhead' which garnered the band their first taste of national exposure by landing on the metal charts. The follow up to Dopes was Powertrip which Wyndorf wrote while ensconced in a Las Vegas hotel room ala Howard Hughes. The album contained the bands only true single hit, 'Space Lord' although the singles 'Temple Of Your Dreams', 'Powertrip' and 'See You In Hell' also saw some FM airplay. To most Monster Magnet fans, Powertrip was a smashing success, eventually striking gold and hitting #97 on Billboards Top 200.

Following on the heels of Powertrip was God Says No (released in 2000) in which the band returned briefly to their psychedelic roots. Although many critics felt that God Says No was the bands most mature effort, it failed to sell like Powertrip as many fans felt the sound was too mellow and laidback for a Magnet album. But it didn't seem to slow the band as they began touring with such power outfits like Aerosmith, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, White Zombie, Megadeath and Van Halen.

By this time, Calandra and Kleinman left the band and were replaced by Michael Wildwood and Jim Baglino. The band retired to the studio and shortly thereafter recorded Monolithic Baby. Again, the band found themselves short a member when drummer Bob Pentella left the band. Although the wheels didn't actually come off the bus at this point, it was getting close. The band left A&M Records.

In 2003 the band released a double disc of their greatest hits and rarities and then signed with the European lable SPV. SPV released Monolithic Baby in Europe followed by a release in the United States where the band scored a minor hit with the single 'Unbroken (Hotel Baby)'

In February 2006, Wyndorf's excesses finally caught up with him and he found himself hospitalized from a drug overdose. After a lengthy battle, Wyndorf recovered and returned to the band but not immediately. In an interview, Wyndorf described that time as follows: " Yeesh... It's a long, detailed story, but okay, let's try this. After years of non-stop touring I became addicted to a powerful sedative. Thanks, doc! Well, the pills caught up with me and I had a massive, near-death meltdown. I was physically and emotionally blown out. I swore up and down that I would NEVER want to play again. One day I went up to my room to read a book. Two years and hundreds of books later I got up, walked downstairs and called the band. "Uh, I kinda changed my mind", I said. I guess I got bored with reading."

By 2007, the band was prepared to release 4-Way Diablo, the album that had been postponed due to Wyndorf's meltdown and subsequent over-dose. The band continued to tour in support of Diablo and in 2009 the band signed a new deal with Naplam Records and said that they would be back in the studio in January 2010 to begin work on their new album Mastermind which is slated for release in October 2010.

So the band that, at times, sounds like the soundtrack to almost every 13 year old boys adolescent daydreams and at other times, the de-evolution of bands like Moby Grape, Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin, Monster Magnet continues its juggernaut through Europe and the United States. Wyndorf, now clean and sober, still strokes his pointy goatee, arches an eyebrow towards the audience and holds the listeners attention like a hostage situation. Monster Magnets sound fills soundtracks, video games and serves as theme songs for a variety of professional wrestlers and extreme sports stars. It's power chords, monster riffs, heavy feedback and distortion and an overall sound and presentation so heavy and ugly, it's almost beautiful. Almost.

Monster Magnet is what happens when you don’t spend enough time with your kids.