SLO BURN — Amusing the Amazing (review)

SLO BURN — Amusing the Amazing album cover EP · 1997 · Stoner Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
California’s Mojave desert was the epicenter for all things stoner rock in the 90s with bands like Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age and ZUN as well as the beginning of the collaborative project called The Desert Sessions which started in Joshua Tree, CA in 1997 however for all the bands that came from the Palm Desert and Palm Springs region, they had seemed to rotate around members that were in Kyuss.

SLO BURN is yet another of this long list of post-Kyuss projects, this one being former lead singer John Garcia along with Kyuss producer Chris Goss. SLO BURN wasn’t exactly prolific. Technically this band that included Garcia on vocals, Chris Hale on guitar, Damon Garrison on bass and Brady Houghton on drums only released this sole EP titled AMUSING THE AMAZING. The original EP which emerged in 1996 shortly after the breakup of Kyuss only featured four tracks that just missed the 16 minute mark.

Later unofficial releases would be released as the self-titled SLO BURN would feature five more tracks lifted from the earlier five track demo and released together as complete works sort of unit however only the four original tracks on this EP are of professional quality however “Cactus Jumper” was re-recorded and ended up on Garcia’s 2014 solo album. Although the band had the good fortune to find themselves on the 1997 Ozzfest tour, SLO BURN actually burned out quite quickly and never released anything other than this EP.

As can be expected, SLO BURN sounded a lot like the later Kyuss releases that preceded AMUSING THE AMAZING. John Garcia’s vocals are quite distinct and are the most obvious connection however Chris Hale’s guitar work is reminiscent of many of the stoner rock bands of the 90s as well as the production of Chris Goss however Kyuss’ music was much more densely packed with a glitzier production value and SLO BURN opted to craft a raw and more direct form of stoner rock that relied on simple melodies with a bluesy alternative rock undertone.

Overall this is a decent slice of dessert stoner rock / metal which fits right in as the next step in the Kyuss universe however SLO BURN isn’t as captivating as classic albums from Kyuss. This is definitely stripped down with the emphasis on the rawness as opposed to the sophisticated layering effects that add more psychedelic weirdness. It’s apparent that SLO BURN truly could’ve been the next step for Garcia but he moved on and joined another short-lived band Unida. The four tracks on the original EP are all pretty good but not of Kyuss quality whereas the remaining demo bonus tracks on the unofficial releases are decent but not really overly exciting. SLO BURN was a brief layover for Garcia and will surely appeal to diehard Kyuss fans.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Из Чего Я Состою Crust Punk
MARIE GUELLA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Surowica / Slavenkust Hardcore Punk
SLAVENKUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Surowica / Slavenkust Crust Punk
SUROWICA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Nie Wydarzy Się Crust Punk
SUROWICA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Repulsive Forms Sludge Metal
UMA
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
In Sulfur - Parasite (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
In Sulfur - Abysmal Grave (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
In Sulfur - Windchaser(OFFICIAL VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
In Sulfur - From Green/To Grey (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 21 hours ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed