Monster Magnet - Milking The Stars: A Reimagining Of Last Patrol review
| Band: | Monster Magnet |
| Album: | Milking The Stars: A Reimagining Of Last Patrol |
| Style: | Stoner metal |
| Release date: | November 14, 2014 |
| A review by: | Auntie Sahar |
01. Let The Circus Burn
02. Mindless Ones '68
03. No Paradise For Me
04. End Of Time (B-3)
05. Milking The Stars
06. Hellelujah (Fuzz And Swamp)
07. I Live Behind The Clouds (Roughed Up And Slightly Spaced)
08. Goliath Returns
09. Stay Tuned (Even Sadder)
10. The Duke (Full On Drums 'N Wah)
11. Last Patrol [live]
12. Three Kingfishers [live]
What is a "reimagining," exactly? In the case of Monster Magnet, it means just what it seems to be implying: a reinterpretation of a previous work, taking a fresh lens of perspective to it and going all out from there. Thus, Milking The Stars is not a new album, at least not as we would typically understand the term. But in many ways it might as well be.
The idea at work with Milking The Stars was essentially to make the album sound more old school, more retro, and like it was released in the late 60s/early 70s, when the type of music Monster Magnet produce was peaking. This goal is accomplished here not only with the Last Patrol rewrites, but also particularly with the (new!) opener "Let The Circus Burn." Easily one of the most psychedelic tracks that the band has done in years, this one in particular goes a long way towards recapturing the trippy acid rock feel of their earlier material, especially the Tab EP. Perhaps this is part of what makes it so powerful, as in my listening experiences, bands who've been around for a while making call backs to their earlier work (almost) always ends up working out well.
And what about those 6 Last Patrol rewrites, the prime focus of the album? To counter those who may be finding this whole Milking The Stars thing unnecessary, there are legitimate differences between their execution here and that on Last Patrol itself, and they range from the subtle to being outright explicit. The most noticeable changes here appear to be an overall enhanced use of keyboard and organ ("Mindless Ones '68"), fuzz and wah effects ("The Duke"), and acoustic guitar ("Hellelujah"). Though perhaps slight, most of these alterations do indeed work wonders towards creating a great classic rock sound (if Monster Magnet didn't have enough of one already). I'm no audio expert, but Dave Wyndorf definitely succeeded with whatever formula he was trying out here, and the production is without question the most delicious aspect of this release.
When the plan for Milking The Stars was first announced, I (and imaginably others as well) scratched my head and asked what the point was. But now, after a few good playthroughs with it, I can sincerely say that there is one, and it's well executed at that. I would advise anyone who's been following these guys for a while to sit down whenever they get the chance, and spin Last Patrol and this album back to back. You will quite likely see the difference, and maybe, like me, the experience will pique your interest for more reimaginings from Monster Magnet.
Comments
Comments: 15
Visited by: 174 users
| afu Posts: 260 |
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| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5266  |
I hate this fucking band. - thanks for the review.
---- rekt
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| Ilham Giant robot Posts: 5161  |
Written by tea[m]ster on 29.10.2014 at 03:52 Haha, why? I rarely see you express yourself in such ways.
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| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5266 |
Written by Ilham on 29.10.2014 at 04:52 I apologize. There is a rock radio station here in Milwaukee that plays the same, recycled, beaten to death, regurgitated grunge music over and over and over...yes it was cool in 1992...but please, for the love of god, if I have to listen to another repeated song from AiC, Stained, Live, Nirvana....these guys...and many, many, many more I think I will go fucking bonkers. *edit* I mean I swear to christ "Man in the Box" is played daily...I swear. That's why I hardly ever listen to the radio...too much politics and popularity contests.
---- rekt
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| Ilham Giant robot Posts: 5161 |
Written by tea[m]ster on 29.10.2014 at 10:50 Oh no need to apologise, I swear a lot myself, I was just surprised a little. I remember when I started spending a lot of time on MS there was a banner for 4 Way Diablo which I found ugly, that kept popping up all the time. I must have unconsciously sworn not to listen to that album just because of how many times I saw it. I'm wondering if Monster Magnet would be my thing though. Maybe not this album from what I gather.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
I got NO notifications from any of these comments, what the heck? 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by deadone on 29.10.2014 at 05:47 Orrrr it could mean that they simply wanted to try a different sound with it? A rewrite album doesn't have to boil down to an issue of "didn't get it right the first time."
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Ilham on 29.10.2014 at 13:15 Nah, if you're looking to get into them, don't start here. It really depends on what you're looking for. Some of their releases are really chill vibe space rock kinda stuff, others are more bouncy, stoner driven hard rock, and there are still others that mix the two. Let me know which seems most appetizing and I'll throw you some recs 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Ilham Giant robot Posts: 5161 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 29.10.2014 at 22:17 Yes I was wondering why you didn't answer the call for recommendations earlier, haha. I want to order from the second menu please. I like when it bounces.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Ilham on 29.10.2014 at 22:26 In that case I would think you'd probably quite enjoy Superjudge and Dopes To Infinity
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Ilham Giant robot Posts: 5161 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 29.10.2014 at 22:32 Duly noted, thank you .
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| qlacs "The Quaker" Posts: 1550  |
This is obviously a release made for MM fans, no need for drama... 
---- 
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| Noncorpus Posts: 17  |
Written by qlacs on 30.10.2014 at 13:33 Yes.. I am a big fan and i can't wait to hear it.. I first heard them when Powertrip was a new release.. back when i used to live in a Recording studio. our friend who worked in a Music CD Store bought it over for one of my flatmates. we liked it right away.. thought it was awesome. how he knows exactly where to put all the "yeah", "Hey" and "Oow" sounds etc... we had one flatmate who didn't much like it.. since it wasn't metal enough. so we played it every morning as soon as we woke up and went and had some bud spots for breakfast, with the speakers right next to his room while he was still sleeping, loud enough for us to hear up the other end of the building. and eventually it grew on him and he became a fan too and got some of the earlier albums. also they don't get overplayed on the radio here in NZ.. not that i listen to the radio..
---- ';'
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| afu Posts: 260 |
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| afu Posts: 260 |
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