By Gruesome Greg
Sonic Medusa is a brand-new quartet of heavy rock veterans like Greg Rogers of The Obsessed and Tom Five, who played in a sludge-metal band called Angel Rot—before joining White Zombie. (Their other guitar player has him beat though. He played with Axl in the Hollywood Rose days…) When you can get Scott Reeder to record your demo tape, you’re clearly not a band of nobodies.
And yet, this record isn’t what you’d expect of a rhythm section from Goatsnake and Sourvein. Medusa is, after all, a lot less Angel Rot and a lot more Angel Witch. (And like every other 80’s metal group, they shall now be referred to by the second word in their band name for the duration of this review.)
“Cold Wind” starts the album off in grand fashion, sounding like desert rock with some NWOBHM guitar harmonies, a sorta power metal power ballad, with a three-chord breakdown that makes you wanna scream “You’re an Angel Witch!” or some such nonsense. “Never Had a Clue” features a Steve Harris bassline with some solid double leads and a hard-hitting chorus. “Used to be Cool” sounds like Motorhead used to, albeit with more time changes, while “Knife” shows shades of Diamond Head.
“Clones” is the one true doomy standout, an old-school slice with a touch of Vitus. I half-expected “Wolf’s Prayer” to be the album-ending ballad a la “Winterdreams” from Accept’s Balls to the Wall album. (Yes, that was the first album-closing ballad that came to mind. I fuckin’ love Accept…) In that regard, it doesn’t disappoint, although it’s more 90’s desert rock than 80’s Teutonic metal.
Unlike all those lamer bands that wanna bring back the band aspects of 80’s metal *cough*Steel Panther*cough*, these guys are retro in a good way. If you prefer the Soundhouse to the Sunset Strip, keep an eye out for Medusa!
(Originally posted on StonerRock.com)
