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.

Kingcrimsonprog Reason To Live is the third, and to date final full-length studio album by Maryland Stoner band Sixty Watt Shaman, a band named after both Jimi Hendrix’s amplifier and Jim Morrison himself.

The sixteen-track album, from 2002, was written after the band had finished touring with fellow Maryland group Clutch and the legendary Corrosion Of Conformity and it is clear when listening to the record that this had some influence on the resulting sessions. It was produced by Scott Reeder of Kyuss and Unida fame and released through Spitfire Records. The artwork was handled by Frank Kozik who has worked with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Melvins etc

Their sound is a little more metallic than the average Stoner Rock band; as well as just in the attitude and energy of the performance, this manifests itself with use of double kick patterns with chuggy riffs or low screams with hard breakdowns added in with the usual big spacey sections and bass-heavy slow sections with deep melodic vocals to create a pleasant and compelling overall mixture of the two styles. On this album, the tracks will usually start in a more rock territory and evolve into a more metal form after a few verses. Additionally, there are occasionally slight grunge or southern overtones on some of the tracks adding further sounds to the mix.

Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich (of The Obsessed, The Hidden Hand, St. Vitus, Shrinebuilder etc) provides guest guitar on ‘All Things Come To Pass,’ which is interesting, as the band and Wino had already worked together providing a guest appearance on Clutch’s Pure Rock Fury album. Furthermore, this track also features guest bass from Scott Reeder as well just his production talents.

Highlights include The Title Track and ‘Horse You Rode In On,’ as well, of course, as the aforementioned album closer ‘All Things Come To Pass.’ The band are all superb musicians and performers and Reason To Live is a genuinely rousing and interesting record to listen to, the drumming in particular from ‘Minnesota’ Pete Campbell is a cut above the norm.

In summary; Reason To Live is a musically strong and wholly enjoyable Stoner Rock record that incorporates a lot of Metal elements into the sound and features a very energetic performance and strong production job.

If you like bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Slo Burn, Sheavy, Down, etc (and especially Clutch and Corrosion Of Conformity) then Sixty Watt Shaman are just the sort of band that you should check out. Furthermore, if you enjoy this album I would also recommend their second album Seed Of Decades, which was actually produced by Jean-Paul Gaster of Clutch.