Signs Of Infinite Power

Give a simple guitar chord progression to the lads in Fu Manchu, and somehow, they always manage to transform it into a gonzoid behemoth. And their penchant for killer fuzz riffs and grooves is on display throughout their eleventh album, 2009's Signs of Infinite Power. These surfer dudes are still obsessed with the '70s and Sabbath -- which is a good thing for all of us, as they offer another raging slab of molten metal. Since the get-go, Fu Manchu has always focused on the importance of cooking up strong 'n' sturdy guitar bits rather than sticky sweet choruses or melodicism, and this works out fine for these Orange County gentlemen, especially on such album standouts as "Bionic Astronautics" and "El Busta." Elsewhere, "Gargantuan March" sounds just liked you'd think from its title, "Eyes x 10" is a classic Fu Manchu rocker, while "Webfoot Witch Hat" contains elements of spacy psychedelia at times. Impressively consistent from beginning to end, Fu Manchu are one of the few modern-day metal bands that create riffs and grooves that truly matter -- as heard all over Signs of Infinite Power. ~ Greg Prato