Superjudge is the second full-length album by American rock band Monster Magnet, released on April 6, 1993. It is the first Monster Magnet album to feature lead guitarist Ed Mundell, who replaced founding member John McBain in 1992. The album was not a commercial success upon release, but would later become an influential release in the stoner rock genre alongside the band's debut album, Spine of God.[7] The tracks "Twin Earth" and "Face Down" were released as singles with accompanying music videos.
| Superjudge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 6, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | October 1992 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:43 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Dave Wyndorf | |||
| Monster Magnet chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Superjudge | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[5] |
| Riff Raff | B[6] |
Overview
editSuperjudge was Monster Magnet's second official album, with their debut release Tab being an EP, and also their debut with major label A&M Records. It was recorded and mixed by Steve Rosenthal at New York's "The Magic Shop" studio in October, 1992, with all original material composed by the band's lead vocalist Dave Wyndorf.
The album fared poorly commercially, largely due to its release coinciding with the advent of the grunge era, which ultimately resulted in a dramatic decline in the popularity of heavy metal in general. Though a commercial disappointment in the months following its release in 1993, Superjudge has since become a very influential album within the stoner rock genre.[8]
The album includes covers of Willie Dixon's "Evil" (utilizing an arrangement used by the band Cactus on their 1971 cover of the song), and Hawkwind's "Brainstorm" from their 1972 album, Doremi Fasol Latido.
Music and lyrics
editSuperjudge is overall heavier than the band's previous album Spine of God, and also makes use of less vocal effects.[9] The album incorporates elements of hard rock, psychedelia, heavy metal, blues rock and punk rock.
According to singer Dave Wyndorf, Superjudge began as something of a concept album, but the only surviving part is the band's cover of Willie Dixon's "Evil (Is Going On)". Also according to Dave Wyndorf, "For a while, we were thinking of doing a total blues record, old Ten Years After stuff and old Howlin' Wolf stuff," Wyndorf says. "But we couldn't pull it off. It didn't sit right with us, so we kept 'Evil' and a couple others, but only 'Evil' made it to the tape."[9]
The album's lyrics make references to various sci-fi topics, with Wyndorf saying he writes "ambiguous and coded" lyrics because if he didn't, "I'd get bored singing them after three gigs." "The songs I like aren't explained," he says. "You can try to figure them out. I write stream-of-consciousness and I don't rewrite much. A lot of times, I'll have one foot in reality-something going on in Belgium or whatever-and the other in what I wish could happen-planets, spaceships-and try to fit them together and make sense out of it."[9]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Dave Wyndorf, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cyclops Revolution" | 5:43 |
| 2. | "Twin Earth" | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Superjudge" | 6:49 |
| 4. | "Cage Around the Sun" | 4:55 |
| 5. | "Elephant Bell" | 3:59 |
| 6. | "Dinosaur Vacume" | 6:02 |
| 7. | "Evil" (Willie Dixon; originally performed by Howlin' Wolf) | 3:14 |
| 8. | "Stadium" | 3:41 |
| 9. | "Face Down" | 4:11 |
| 10. | "Brainstorm" (Nik Turner; originally performed by Hawkwind) | 8:04 |
| 11. | "Black Balloon" | 3:05 |
| Total length: | 53:43 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Nod Scene" (Live) | 6:26 |
| 13. | "Snake Dance" (Live) | 3:33 |
| 14. | "Medicine" (Live) | 4:24 |
Personnel
edit- Monster Magnet
- Dave Wyndorf – guitar, vocals, producer
- Ed Mundell – lead guitar
- Joe Calandra – bass
- Jon Kleiman – drums
- Additional musicians
- Tim Cronin – "Mountain of Judgement" according to album's liner notes
- Technical staff and artwork
- Steve Rosenthal – mixing
- Edward Douglas – assistant engineer
- Joe Warda – assistant engineer
- Bogdan Hernik – assistant engineer
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Rich Frankel – art direction
- Rob Leecock – cover "Bull God" painting
- Michael Lavine – photography
References
edit- ^ "#TBT: Superjudge is MONSTER MAGNET's Psychedelic-Kissed Retro Metal". Metal Injection. January 31, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ Schleutermann, Marcus (May 28, 1993). "Superjudge". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved June 28, 2024.
- ^ "Superjudge - Monster Magnet". AllMusic.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 286. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Browne, David. "Superjudge". Entertainment Weekly. April 30, 1993, cited December 26, 2013
- ^ Liddell, Mark. "Superjudge". Riff Raff. July 1993, cited December 26, 2013
- ^ Injection, Metal (January 31, 2019). "#TBT: Superjudge is MONSTER MAGNET's Psychedelic-Kissed Retro Metal". Metal Injection. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ "Monster Magnet - Superjudge". web2carz.com. Retrieved on December 26, 2013.
- ^ a b c "'Superjudge' The Latest From Monster Magnet". Chicago Tribune. November 11, 1993. Retrieved June 28, 2024.