https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Burning Out Retinas with Riotgod

Though between them they’ve spent years playing in bands like Human Remains, Cycle of Pain, Lord Sterling, The Atomic Bitchwax and The Ribeye Bros., drummer Bob Pantella and bassist Jim Baglino are probably best known at this point as the rhythm section of New Jersey stalwarts Monster Magnet. Likely that’s a job that comes packaged with a lot of ups and downs. You get to tour the world over and have a built-in high profile because of the band’s past success, but probably you don’t get to write much and there’s a lot of downtime. Hoping perhaps to make the most of that, Baglino and Pantella formed Riotgod a couple years back with guitarist Garrett Sweeny and vocalist Mark Sunshine. Their self-titled debut, in digipak/bonus track form, is out on Germany’s Metalville Records.

If you’ve been privy to Monster Magnet’s latest output, you at least have a basis for understanding where Riotgod’s Riotgod is coming from; they play a relatively straightforward (in terms of structure) brand of rock, not quite stoner, but definitely influenced by the heavy ‘70s and with some element of space to it, as the cover and tracks like “Light of the Sun” and “Collapsing Stars” would indicate. The material gets samey toward the album’s back half, but there is plenty of quality songwriting on display, and the production, while modern, isn’t nearly as flat as, say, the last Monster Magnet CD. Sunshine does a pretty good John Garcia on the Zeppelin-esque “The Time is Now,” and the chorus of “Collapsing Stars” proves to be a Riotgod high point, which is surprising for a semi-ballad amidst so many hard rockers, but led into by the atmospheric interlude “Omega,” it doesn’t feel out of place.

Of course, Pantella and Baglino are in the pocket the whole time. I don’t think you get to stay in Monster Magnet for more than five minutes if you can’t lock it down, and with Riotgod, the two give a good show of why they are where they are. Sweeny’s guitar tone varies throughout the record, though it’s held in check by the production, but he’s able to affect either a sweet melody or a driving riff with ease, and Sunshine’s vocals have no trouble adapting to whatever music they’re given. The only snag is that there’s a lot of material on the album. Including the bonus tracks, Riotgod boasts a whopping 16 cuts, and with the sheer quantity of songs, there are some moments that should really shine through that get lost in the mire. Riotgod probably could have gotten an album and a full studio EP out of this session – or half another full-length, depending on how you want to look at it – and by including it all here, yes, they put it all on the table, but that’s a decision you’d expect much less experienced players to make. Maybe Riotgod were so stoked on each of these songs they couldn’t decide which to cut, so they left them all.

Whether or not that’s true, the outcome is that Riotgod might be best experienced in parts the first time through. Cut into two sessions, each song is given more of a chance to shine, as opposed to when you try and tackle the whole thing and it simply comes across as too much. It’s still an enjoyable listen, particularly for anyone who wants something with a classic rock edge that’s neither retro nor hyper-redundant, but in this age of digital singles and short attention spans, Riotgod might have put in too much of a good thing. Nonetheless, taken in parts, the album’s overall quality shines through, and although it’s undoubtedly going to be measured by most as a side-project, especially with a new Monster Magnet album forthcoming, Riotgod’s debut proves the band has plenty to offer on its own. Cheers to the rhythm section.

Riotgod on MySpace

Metalville Records

Tags: , , ,

Leave a Reply