Kingcrimsonprog Sixty Watt Shaman are a Stoner Rock/Metal band from Baltimore Maryland. Seed Of Decades was their second full-length studio album and was released in 2000. Singer Dan Soren is also known for his work with the Doom Metal band The Mighty Nimbus.

The band approach the music by delivering the fundamentals of classic 1970s rock music and applying them through the filter of Stoner Rock. The resulting sound isn’t just Kyuss-worship like some of the less original Stoner bands settle for and not just a gimmicky classic rock nostalgia album either, but a mixture of the two influence sets that ultimately makes something more satisfying.

If you like Clutch, then this is a band that you really need to check out; they have toured with them, they thank them in their linear notes and have even recorded together, such as Sixty Watt members guesting on the Pure Rock Fury album. On this album Clutch’s singer Neil Fallon provides guest vocals on the song ‘The Trip’ and their drummer J.P Gastor also provides guest percussion on the final track ‘I’ve Been Down.’

Simply working with Clutch isn’t the whole story though, the band also share a lot of sonic similarities as well. For an example, listen to the slow and groovy ‘Low Earth Orbit’ with its background keys and John Bonham influenced drumming and it is hard not to think of Clutch’s Robot Hive Exodus material. This isn’t to say that ‘Shaman are just a Clutch rip-off or anything, they have their own personality and bring their own ideas to the table too, its just that if you do like Clutch’s sound then you’ll probably like Sixty Watt Shaman a lot too.

Sixty Watt Shaman have a great sound that is sure to appeal to fans of the Classic Rock and Stoner scenes; the only real negative accusation anyone could throw at them is that some of their stuff gets a bit samey, but then again while a lot of the album does follow the same sonic formula, there are a few brief moments of the trippier side of the Stoner Rock (think early Monster Magnet), some acoustic stuff and a few moments of a speedier and punkier sound on there too which all adds a bit of variety to the proceedings, so the problem isn’t that pronounced.

Highlights include ‘Red Colony’ which mixes big fat Stoner riffs with a laid back yet grand approach, the fast and fun ‘Devil In The Details Part 1’ and the excellent bluesy album closer ‘I’ve Been Down.’

Overall, Seed Of Decades is a pretty enjoyable album and Sixty Watt Shaman are a pretty enjoyable band, especially if you like the Stoner music scene and Clutch in particular. I highly recommend both the band and the album if this sort of music is usually something that you enjoy.