V.A. (The Ultimate FUZZ COLLECTION-Vol. ONE) CD
The new label Fuzzoramarecords, based in Örebro Sweden comes up with this compilation, featuring sixteen heavy rockin' metal-tinged fuzzed-out bands from all around the world. For me personal, one of the best compilation in this genre was the "Welcome to Meteor City" compilation, because it had offered an amount of quality and diversity. Since then, a lot of others have followed, and for my taste most of them were superfluous.
Now we write the year 2004 and the guys of Fuzzoramarecords have done a much better job, especially for those who wants to get a first impression of what's going on in the heavy rock 'n' roll underground. Well, here we find DOZER, LOS NATAS, TRUCKFIGHTERS, ASTROQUEEN, GREENLEAF, GONZALEZ, COWBOYS & ALIENS, ELEPHANTUM, SUNRIDE, DEXTER JONES' CIRCUS ORCHESTRA, FREEDOM BLEEDER, SPIRITU, FIRESTONE, MEZZANINE, WE and Mr. Brant Bjork. Some of there here included cuts are well-known to me like DOZER's "Man Made Mountain", LOS NATAS' "Tufi Meme", GREENLEAF's "Black Black Magic", SUNRIDE's "Vinegar Fly" or Brant Bjork's " Rock N' Role", because their were taken from older (Brant Bjork/GREENLEAF/LOS NATAS) or actual releases (DOZER).
Other cuts have also been taken from previous releases, but I guess that only die-hard collectors will own this stuff. Anyway, I enjoy the powerful groove-laden energetic cut "Ghost in my Speaker" from Belgium COWBOYS & ALIENS or the dark monstrous Kyuss-tinged "Black Butterfly" from Dutch ELEPHANTUM. SPIRITU, a band that I still have in best memory, due to their entertaining self-titled debut on Meteor City, knows to impress me with "Throwback". It's a tasteful mash of charismatic metallized vocals and sharp proto metal 70's riffage, drenched in a bath of blues and psych.
GONZALEZ' contribution "Dusted" is another ass-kickin' song here, that combines the attitude of mid-70's punk with some serious hardrock metal licks, and an overdose of groove and attitude. Another highlight here is FIRESTONE's "Jack", a heavy groovin' distorted blues anthem with additional mouth harp. At least I like to mention MEZZANINE's "Dig a Hole", a tasteful combination of 70's AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd, not far away from COC's "Deliverance" album. This collection is maybe not the ultimate one, but it's gives a good tasteful overview, especially for newcomers. Buy this CD without delay!
(KK)