Fu Manchu, in a summary:

1. Low fidelity recordings. You can these albums are recorded on a shoestring budget. They remind me of the type of music that ends up on indie films because the "director" knows a guy who has a band.

The guitar on this record sounds muddy, like somebody discovered an old Big Muff unit in a garage sale and fell in love with it.

I've heard home recordings that sounded better. The production quality on this album is pretty weak.

2. Serious heavy riff-driven rock. Sounds like Nugent. No two ways about it.

3. Vocals are actually LESS melodic than Nugent. They're "sung" in a sort of rap to the beat type meter, but there is seldom a discernable melody to it.

This album will take you straight back to 1975... whether you think that is a good or bad thing will determine whether the album is for you or not.

All the songs... they all share the same traits: heavy guitar riffs reminiscent of Black Sabbath, Nazareth, Kiss. Lyrics that aren't sung so much as they're spoken.

So, who will this album appeal to? Pretty much the type of kids who it would have appealed to in the 70s... stoner teenage boys.

On the fringes, it will be enjoyed by those who have always liked the kind of music that appealed to 70s stoner teenage boys.

Chances are Fu Manchu will always remain a bit of an underground phenom. Even by 70s rock standards this album isn't a great one.

There is no cut on here that is a "Cat Scratch Fever", or "Detroit Rock City", or "Ironman". It's about like listening to an album where all the cuts are about the caliber of Kiss' "Plaster Caster".

The more pot you smoke, the better this album is likely to sound. Wearing tie dye won't hurt, either.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Exercising