New Jersey’s own Monster Magnet have been on the road in North America since September. They are touring in support of their masterful record Mindfucker.

Lead Vocalist/songwriter and guitarist David Albert Wyndorf has been fronting Monster Magnet since 1989. Coming out of the tail end of the glam rock era, the band stood out like a sore thumb when they first arrived on the scene, due to the opposite sound and look of the hair metal bands. The blueprint sound of Monster Magnet can be compared to Motorhead in a sense that it is truly of a kind.

Tonight’s show was the second to last night of their tour before they hit Europe in January. The Gramercy Theatre held the event to a welcoming crowd. As the members hit the stage, the band dominated with a twelve-song set. Opening with the heavy psychedelic song “Dope to Infinity” set the tone for the night. Having this classic song as an opener allowed the band to introduce the audience to new music such as “Rocket Freak.” Doing this shows how the band started and evolved to where they are currently.

Musically, they have arguably stood the test of time. Monster Magnet blended well with new songs such as “When the Hammer Comes Down” and the melodic riffing song “Mindfucker.”  Wyndorf’s musical influences lay in the foundation of proto-metal bands like Hawkwind, but also in fantasy. Tonight they played one of the fantasy songs, “Look to Your Orb for the Warning,” which was notably in the film “The Matrix.” His love of comics is so huge that comic book writers Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely named a character after the song “Negasonic Teenage Warhead.” While not a pop song, it is a crowd favorite. The follow up to this is the crowd participation song “Space Lord.” 
 
As the stoner blues chords were being felt throughout the crowd, the audience was taken on a musical trip. Each time the audience sang “oooohhhhhh space lord mother fucker,” the energy kept rising. As liberating as that was, Monster Magnet ended the night with an encore and performed the majestic cult classic song “Spine of God.” The eight-minute opus was able to steer the energy towards a trippy ambience. The live performance had shades of The Door’s song “The End.” As the audience was in a trance, the song built to a breakdown with a heavy stoner groove version of Don’s Maclean’s “American Pie.”As the band segued back into the feedback bridge of the song, the audience was more than prepared to go wherever David was leading them. The final song of the night was the high energy  “Powertrip.” 
 
Mindfucker is their final album for Napalm Records. As of this writing, there is no word on the future of the band. Either way, they will soldier on for 2019 overseas, and hopefully, another go around for a North American tour. 

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About The Author

Anya was born and raised in Donestk, Ukraine, and emigrated to NYC when she was 8 years old. In her early teens she discovered Power Metal and many artists from the European metal scene. Her passion for photography grew from her concert experiences. There is nothing more exciting than capturing those small moments on stage that musicians have with their instruments. She enjoys taking photos from the crowd and is not afraid to step into mosh pit to take photos of the fans in action. Photography has influenced Anya in other ways. When she's not in the photo pit she can be found teaching preschool where photography is a big part of my daily curriculum. Photography is more than a hobby it is a passion, which allows her to combine all her interests into one.