So after releasing their debut full length “Spine Of God” in 1991, Monster Magnet returned to the studio to record a few more songs. The resulting ep, “Tab” is what I will attempt to review now. Tab has four songs, and lasts for a mind bending 52 minutes. This is music that is the very definition of stoner rock.

The recording starts with the Pink Floydian title song “Tab.” Lasting a mammoth 32 minutes, this song starts off sounding like pure 70s rock. Imagine Pink Floyd and Hawkwind jamming in adjoining rooms. Its not too long before the Sabbath influences kick in and the song plods along. The guitars of Wyndorf and McBain weave in and out delivering snaky guitar riffs with plenty of distortion, all delivered at a snail’s pace. The rumbling bass playing of Joe Calandra stands out yet again on this song. There are also tons of electronic effects happening in the background to keep things interesting. Wyndorf’s vocals kick in at around the 11 minute mark but it’s a spoken word performance. Probably another rant by the sound of it but buried in the back of the mix so I’m not sure what he’s talking about. I’ll give you an easy reference point for this song. You know those ten to fifteen minute hippie jams in Woodstock ? Well, imagine what it would sound like if it was Tony Iommi playing the guitar on those jams and add in a bunch of electronic effects. This is drug addled rock ‘n roll at its decadent best; self indulgent and absolutely without care.

The very next song is another mammoth. 12 minutes of brain numbing music. “25” has no groove. It is, like the title song, a long meandering jam before suddenly going into a riff that’s pure 90s alternative rock and then going into some bluesy southern fried licks. “Longhair” is mid tempo and uses acoustic guitars to good effect before becoming another effect laden down tuned dirge. The ep closes with the fuzzed out rocker “Lord 13.”

While greater things were to come for the band, “Tab” captures Monster Magnet at their rawest and most self indulgent. If you were in doubt about the importance of Monster Magnet to the stoner rock scene then you can hear exactly how influential Monster Magnet are on this ep. Just about every stoner rock/ metal band to come from the second half of the decade owes Monster Magnet a tab. Maybe even two.

Label – Caroline Records

Year Of Release – 1991