REVIEW: Monster Truck – The Brown EP (2011)

MONSTER TRUCK_0001MONSTER TRUCK – The Brown EP (2011)

From the snowy climbs of Hamilton, Ontario roars the Monster Truck.  I first heard this band via the fine folks over at 107.5 Dave FM.  When they started playing “Righteous Smoke” in rotation, I knew I had to check out Monster Truck.  Uncle Meat has questioned my liking of this band, however.  He compared them to Nickelback and implied it was hypocritical of me to like one band and hate the other.

I don’t equate the two bands, although I admit similarities exist.  Monster Truck appear to be more rooted in classic 70’s hard rock, where Nickelback have always sounded to me like a watered down version of all the bands of the 1990’s.  (We called them “TheoryofaNickelCreed” back in the Record Store days.)  Monster Truck are sweaty rock. The presence of the organ on The Brown EP sounds more like Uriah Heep than Chad Kroeger.

With that out of the way, The Brown EP is an enjoyable 15 minutes(!) of hard Canadian rock.  I think Monster Truck are at their best whilst rocking out, so my least favourite track on the EP is “Seven Sea Blues”.  It has become a bit of a hit single, so I might be alone on that one.  Meanwhile, “Righteous Smoke” rocks solidly to the head and gets it banging.  It has a solid groove and it sticks to the brain like peanut butter.  “I Am Freedom” has a similar vibe, and the keys backing the riff help Monster Truck achieve their own slant on this sound.

“Love Attack” almost sounds like a classic Alice Cooper track at first, but it’s a shorty at just 1:42.  “Sworded Beest” is awesome.  I’ve always dug bands that had multiple lead singers, and this song has two: lead vocalist/bassist Jon Harvey, and guitarist Jeremy Widerman.  Their vocals work well together, kinda like a Billy Gibbons/Dusty Hill deal.  “Sworded Beest” rocks like a juggernaut but goes full-on heavy metal at the end.

My only real beef with the EP are the drums.  Yes, they are hard, heavy and loud in the mix — all good things to me.  But they sound a little dead, and I crave a snare sound that sounds more like a snare, and cymbols that don’t just sizzle all the time.

Not a bad EP.  I’d like to get their album Furiosity next, because the single “Sweet Mountain River” from that disc is my favourite so far.

3.5/5 stars

29 comments

    1. Well, wait until Uncle Meat wakes his sleepy ass and comments. He does not like them. I am hoping to get a conversation going…when doing this review I re-affirmed that I think they have some integrity.

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  2. Actually Monster Truck I got into via some pals at work that were raving about em…so I picked up Furiousity and it kicks ol school with the Hammond organ…I mean it’s got 70s all over over it.
    Was fortunate to catch em live back in dec and they blew the roof of the dump I seen em at!
    (Crocks N Rolls-Tbay) …good album and thanks for this Mike….u will like there Furiousity …
    For newer bands and there aren’t really that grab my ear anymore MT though is one…..

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    1. If Furiosity is as good as Sweet Mountain River, then I know I’ll like it. Sweet Mountain River is just a great tune and I dig the two lead vocalist thing.

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  3. This is great Mike. Love the audience participation, heavy groove and intensity. There’s definitely a more energetic 70’s feel than “preserved-in-a-jar” 70’s tribute bands like Wolf Mother or The Sheepdogs, you can tell they really feel it.
    Will be watching for these guys playing in my area most certainly, thanks for this post.

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  4. Theoryofanickelcreed – shudder! I’ll be borrowing that catch-all name though.

    I grew up in Burlington so it’s nice to see the Golden Horseshoe represented!

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  5. Look at that fucking poser picture. Silly nonsense. You think that guy’s jeans just “got that way” themselves? Hey … Monster Truck fuck. Fuck off

    If you say you hate Nickelback ….. and like this band? Then I am afraid that you do actually like Nickelback. This is scientific fact.

    Here is a story with a connection to it …. Take Derek Whibley Lavigne for example. Firstly .. Sum 41’s 15 seconds of fame end. Then he loses his little hot queen Avril Lavigne.. to none other than Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. Whibley drastically recluses and drinks himself almost to death, completely shutting down his kidneys and liver. Picture the condition of said kidneys and liver… Can you feel and taste the sorry awful rotting mess that would be? THAT is what i think of when i think of Monster Truck …. Derek Whibley’s broken rotting insides. Is this a harsh post? You bet your vest with no fucking shirt it is …..

    1/5 stars for costume design ….. 0/5 stars for being complete hot garbage

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    3. I love the comparison to Whibley’s rotting insides. While we totally disagree on Monster Truck, we can agree that Whibley’s liver and kidneys are probably some of the most disgusting things around.

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        5. Well that part is speculation…but after his marriage fell apart, he did go into the drinking so bad to the point that one more drink WILL kill him.

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  7. Pingback: REVIEW: Monster Truck – The Brown EP (2011) | mikeladano.com | Crazy MonsterTrucks

    2. I think its more the first EP, this is a lot more original.

      Check out “Lethal Weapon, Cop Car.”

      Its not clone territory, but it you can hear where people get the idea. I think mainly its the keys remind people of the keys on Robot Hive’ and Beale Street’

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