Monster Magnet

Monster Magnet  (US)  2012

Monster Magnet is an American stoner rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (guitar) and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums). The band first went by the names "Dog of Mystery", "Airport 75", "Triple Bad Acid" and "King Fuzz" before finally settling on "Monster Magnet", taken from the name of a 1960s toy made by Wham-O, which Wyndorf liked when he was a child.

Monster Magnet's style is heavily influenced by 1970s heavy metal and space rock bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Hawkwind and Captain Beyond. In addition to recording covers such as Black Sabbath's "Into the Void" (Master of Reality, 1971) and Hawkwind's "Brainstorm" (Doremi Fasol Latido, 1972), Wyndorf sometimes incorporated elements of space rock staples into his own songs. For instance, the Dopes to Infinity title track borrows some of its lyrics from "Lord of Light" (ibid.), and Superjudge's "Twin Earth" is a reinterpretation of Captain Beyond's "Mesmerization Eclipse" (Captain Beyond, 1972).

Wyndorf also is a fan of 1960s comic books, particularly Jack Kirby. He mentions Kirby in the song "Melt" from God Says No. He also mentions MODOK (on "Baby Götterdämerung" from Powertrip) and Ego the Living Planet (on "Ego, The Living Planet" from Dopes to Infinity), both of which are Marvel Comics creations. "All Shook Out" from God Says No has a reference to "Children of the Atom" which is a reference to X-Men, also from Marvel Comics. Additionally, Marvel's Fantastic Four is referenced in the song The Titan Who Cried Like a Baby on their Mastermind album. Marvel is aware of the admiration, and there is a mutant named Negasonic Teenage Warhead, after one of their songs.