After a four year silence, finally time has come for Monster Magnet to tour again. Unfortunaly, in the light of some football match the whole gig took place in the afternoon. But with many jobs and studies that had to be attended the next morning, perhaps it wasn´t such a bad idea.

First band that played this afternoon was Tank 86. What the hell! This band absolutely blew me away. I’ve heard about this Breda based band before, but I actually never had the chance to check them out before. The first band of the night and they give me from the first note on, shivers down my spine. They play instrumental groovy Stoner/Sludge-metal, that is comparable to a band like Capricorns. Tank 86 is a bit more straight forwarded and not as dark moody as Capricorns though. The riffs are there, the ideas are there. If this band continues to grow even more, then the Netherlands have a new band, that easily can beat the competition out of the US. This band is by far one of the best Dutch bands I’ve seen for a very long time. They have a self released mini-CD out, and they played all five songs of it. With my personal highlight in the song 'Dmitrj'. This song starts off with a riff, which sounds like when Slayer would play groovy Stoner-rock. An absolute neckbracking riff, which turns slowly in a more slow, improvised moody song. What a beginning of this afternoon!
(Review by RoyBalowski)

Second band this day was Les Anges. This Belgian band features ex-members of Hulk and Fifty Foot Combo. At first the show didn’t came across, because I still had a huge buzz going on from the Tank 86 show and I thought the first couple of songs were a bit sloppy. But later on the songs got better and better. At one point they even played a cover from the band The Osmonds. How wrong is that? But in fact, it turned out pretty good. Musically Les Anges are way more similar to Monster Magnet than Tank 86 was. Funny fact with this band, is that they have a female keyboard/organ player. She also uses a transistor to create that Surf sound the Beach Boys have. The second part of the show had a lot more up tempo Rock ‘n Roll songs in it. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, because the response got better and better. In the end they got the crowd pretty much going nuts. They shouted for an encore, but due a strict curfew they got none. Check them out if you like your Rock to be dirty Garage and Surf-rock at the same time.
(Review by RoyBalowski)

2004: Monster Magnet tour with their latest record Monolithic Baby! in their back pockets and a nice surprise in store. After their meandering down the roads of hard rock heros during the Powertrip and God Says No days where set lists contained hardly any of their old work, finally their signature stoner songs wallowed through the speakers once more. And even though Monolithic was anything but a stoner record, it felt like a homecoming for old school fans who adored classic records such as Superjudge. But then, after the announcement that the band had entered the studio for the next album, news struck that supposedly clean lead singer and rock god Dave Wyndorf had been taken to rehab. After that, a long, very long and very eerie silence. Not a word from the Magnet camp. Until the amazing comeback record 4 Way Diablo was released, that merged the socially dislocated feel of the earliest stuff out there (like the Lovemonster tapes, or the self titled demo) with the straight rock feel of the last decade of Magnet. And then it got silent again, until..

..last Sunday! Finally, Monster Magnet was back in town for a very short European tour, with their third consecutive gig on European soil since the summer of 2004. The anticipation was huge: how will Dave sound? Will he look healthy? Will Mundell slam another kick ass solo? And after a short technical difficulty the answers were presented. Yes, yes and hell yes. To start off with the front man: Wyndorf has never been more relaxed and friendly on stage. Definitly the most notable factoid concerning this afternoon o' rock. No longer the horny sex ‘n rock god, no longer the angst ridden teenager, Wyndorf had the presence of a friendly neighbour. Joking around with the audience, giving little speeches, all very much relaxed and cheerful. No guitars got set on fire, all Dave needed was a fan in front of his monitor and a cigarette to light. Can we conclude that the charismatic, friendly neighbour rocking out tonight is a clean, addiction free man? You’d almost have to.

Speaking of welcome surprises, how about the set list? Being the huge nerd I am, here’s the lowdown: not one song of 4 Way Diablo. Not one. All the more the really old stuff, that have been a true rarity the last couple of years. Stuff like Superjudge, or Spine of God (the closedown song!). Strange enough, with no stuff of the last album, there was room for two songs from the disappointing Monolithic Baby, and of course the ‘hits’ Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Spacelord. But in the end it was the really old stuff that made the day. That, and the fact that Wyndorf seemed to have given up the whole rock star act, replacing it with the ‘nice friendly neighbor’ stage presence. With such a great gig, one can only hope that the man stays this clean, this upbeat and this elevated. And for a new Magnet gig, soon. (Review by Lex)