Monster Magnet release 'Cobras and Fire (The Mastermind Redux)' on October 9th
Dave Wyndorf and his bandmates seemingly had the time of their lives when they completely rearranged and boosted Last Patrol (2014) and christened it Milking the Stars: A Re-imagining of Last Patrol. Now Monster Magnet go back even further to 2010 and their Mastermind album. Even if you know the album inside out, you won't be prepared in the slightest for the trip that Cobras and Fire (The Mastermind Redux) is. Familiar elements drift by and are swallowed whole by thundering psych orgies. Wyndorf often focuses on a singular song fragment and turns it into his ride to total Nirvana.
The album is to be released by Napalm Records on October 9th and the first song off of it, "Mastermind '69", is receiving today its premiere. Check it out:
Wyndorf stated on the new album: "Hey, hey! I'm pleased to announce the release of Cobras and Fire: The Mastermind Redux. It's a re-imagining of material from 2010's Mastermind album as an alternative listening experience that I think stands on its own. With Cobras and Fire I wanted to present these songs in a much stranger and dirtier atmosphere. Less 'classic rock' and more… well, I'd guess I'd call it a deranged fusion of garage-psych, fuzz punk and movie soundtrack music. It's almost completely re-recorded (with the bulk of the guitar and bass playing by co-producer Phil Caivano) and as in Milking The Stars I've added organ, piano, sitars and more to flesh out a completely new sound for these tunes. There's also a Hawkwind/Pink Fairies inspired cover version of The Temptations' 1969 classic "Ball Of Confusion" with background vocals by Monster Magnet co-founder and Rib Eye Bros. frontman Tim Cronin. Plus an 8-minute, tripped out sonic adventure entitled "I Live Behind the Paradise Machine" specially created by mixer extraordinaire Evil Joe Barresi. Joe is at his best here, seamlessly integrating elements from several Magnet songs into a new, stand alone composition.
All in all I call this the weirdest Monster Magnet yet, and that's a good thing! I hope you like it! Rock on!"
Cobras and Fire (The Mastermind Redux) track listing:
01. She Digs That Hole
02. Watch Me Fade
03. Mastermind '69
04. Hallucination Bomb
05. Gods and Punks
06. The Titan
07. When the Planes Fall from the Sky
08. Ball of Confusion
09. Time Machine
10. I Live Behind the Paradise Machine (Evil Joe Barresi's Magnet Mash Vol.1)