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VINDALOO
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 Seattle
ass burners Vindaloo rip this bitch open with a thunderous
arena-metal riff that sounds more than a little like “Electric Eye”.
That’s pretty much the only time these guys sound like Judas Priest, but
fuck it, it does grab yr attention, and the rawk n’ roll that happens
afterwards is worth the bait and switch. Suddenly, the guitars get
sweeter, and darker; the rhythm section locks into a stoner-glam groove,
and Ben Harwood’s classic chest thumping, Flannel God vox kick in.
As opener “Diary” rolls on, the room fills with needles and
rain and sunshine and pain, and it’s like 1991 all over again, only
without all the crazy girls in granny sweaters. And since I was still
young and good looking back then, that’s all fuckin’ right with me.
Vindaloo’s sound shares similar muddy ground with Kentucky fried whiskey
grungers Supafuzz, only with a dash of the rootsy, plaintive mellow-yellow
of Blind Melon and a pinch or two of preening flash metal excess. The best
of the bad old days, in other words. They do have their share of downer
tracks, though - they are from Seattle, after all – and when they
slog through ‘em (“Paid in Full”, “Suffer For Now”,
cuppla others) they lurch dangerously close to either Nickelback or like,
some Bon Jovi-esque hair band making a bid for the teeny bopper dollar.
Luckily, the hard shit is dynamic and compelling enough to keep you coming
back, and riot baiters like the sleazy “Swing on the Devil’s Toe”
and crunchy cock rocker “Looks” are as gut punching and
headbanging as anything by nu-breed biker-brawlers like Brand New Sin or
Underride. Bracing stuff, and unlike the dangerously potent grub they
named themselves after, Vindaloo won’t mangle your guts and leave you in a
pile of your own puke. Unless you really beg ‘em. ________________________________________________________ |
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-Sleazegrinder |