Atomic Bitchwax, The - The Atomic Bitchwax (1999)^{Release ID: 13249}

So this one definitely treads the thin line between metal and hard rock, and I think more often than not it falls in the latter category. There’s some direct Sabbath worship, but to my ears, there’s also some Zeppelin and Hendrix. At first I thought I was going to have to call this out as not metal, but as soon as side two starts, we have three heavy tracks in a row (70s metal style to be sure, but metal nonetheless) so I guess it makes the cut, especially since full-metal records were rare in the 70s anyway, and that’s clearly the style these guys are going for. Actually, I think the vocalist is what tips the scales towards hard rock.  Thing is, some of the better moments are on the the more hard rockey tracks: I think “Hey Alright” might be my favorite cut, and it sounds like a more polished Reatards. I like “Gettin Old” too, it’s one of the more metal tracks, starts off like “Electric Funeral” and ends kind of like KISS’s “100,00 Years” (and fuck you, that’s a good song). The bassist uses some weird effect on a lot of the tracks too (I think an envelope filter? Like an automatic wah) and it sounds like a frog being killed. Pretty sick, but I think he over uses it. The vocals are pretty sparse, a lot of the tracks are instrumental, including the 10 minute closer “The Formula” which I think is pointless and doesn’t really add to the album that was already long enough. This album isn’t bad ,  but a lot of it does nothing for me and I could do without the weaker “rock” elements. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the cover though!