Kingcrimsonprog New Jersey’s Monster Magnet are one of the pioneering names in Stoner Rock and their 1991(Germany)/1992(USA) debut studio album Spine Of God was one of the first ever commercially available albums in the genre.

Beyond simply being released early, Spine Of God is a hugely influential and well-respected album that no Monster Magnet fan should be without. Although the production isn’t as strong as their following albums, stylistically the album feels almost like a lost album from the 70s, which is supported by the raw production in addition to the bands mixing of Classic, Space, Prog and Psychedelic rock stylings.

The Psychedelic influences in particular are really strong, more so than on any of the band’s subsequent releases. The music is hypnotic, layered and is awash with numerous effects and consequently the sound is as hazy and drugged-out as Dave himself purports to be in the lyrics.

Dave Wyndorf’s strong voice and impressive vocal range is what most Monster Magnet fans find appealing and the strange and amusing lyrics are interesting as always, even at this early stage in their career.

Highlights include The Title Track, which comes across in the same dark foreboding psychedelic mood as Pink Floyd’s ‘Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun’ only filtered through a 1990s perspective as well as ‘Sin’s A Good Man’s Brother,’ which is a Grand Funk Railroad cover song and the harder rocking ‘Snake Dance,’ which sounds somewhat of a taster of things to come for the band’s next album SuperJudge.

Overall, Spine Of God is a genre classic and if you like Monster Magnet or indeed any other bands on the Stoner/Desert Rock end of the spectrum such as Sleep, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch, Sheavy, Dozer or Orange Goblin, then it really is something that you ought to consider trying out.