Monster Magnet is set to release a covers album entitled A Better Dystopia. The album is described as “a delightfully (and psychotically) curated collection of '60s and '70s proto-metal and late-era psych obscurities covered by the heavy New Jersey legends themselves.” A Better Dystopia is due out on May 21st.
Dave Wyndorf said about the creation of the album, “We all agreed that we would be bored out of our minds within a month of lockdown. MONSTER MAGNET loves the road. It's a lifestyle. So, I considered our options. Rather than panhandle on the Internet, hawking masks and Zoom-rocking practice sessions for dollars, I suggested we record a 'bunker record.' A total DIY affair (band only) recorded and mixed in Bob Pantella's small-but-potent Freak Shop Studios/rehearsal space right here in New Jersey. But what to record?”
He continued, “I didn't feel much like writing, but working on anything was better than watching the news as hospitals filled up, people died, and American politics went bat-shit crazy. The world roared 'Dystopia! Apocalypse! Revolution!' I'd heard those words before, and they brought to mind my childhood in the late '60s/early '70s… and the music… and short playlist of songs (just one of many) that I'd been carrying around with me on my whatever device to listen to before shows.”
He added, “Of course, these tunes have also been in my head for more or less my whole life. These were not the popular hits of the time. This was like a playlist from the fourth dimension… strange bits of musical obscurity, mostly dredged up from that inglorious and freaky 'twilight zone' time that preceded arena rock, heavy metal, reggae and disco. A no-man's land of hard rock that still had remnants of psychedelia and garage punk but had abandoned any notion of 'flower power' or frat house fun. And of course, they rocked. Yeah, these songs were it.”
“A Better Dystopia” track listing:
01. The Diamond Mine
02. Born To Go
03. Epitaph For A Head
04. Solid Gold Hell
05. Be Forewarned
06. Mr. Destroyer
07. When The Wolf Sits
08. Death
09. Situation
10. It's Trash
11. Motorcycle (Straight To Hell)
12. Learning To Die
13. Welcome To The Void (bonus track)
