Fu Manchu – Signs of Infinite Power

site | label | buy

A third successive album with the now consistent Hill-Davis-Reeder-Balch line-up, Signs of Infinite Power is probably one of the best Fu Manchu albums so far. The new effort starts off with one of their doomiest riffs on Bionic Astronautics, kicking into a faster riff towards the end with a typically fuzzy solo. Their trademark stoner heaviness continues though Steel Beast Defeated and Against The Ground before an almost-hip-hop groove on Webfoot Witch Hat under the layers of fuzzy guitars and distorted bass; similar to Clutch‘s sound in some respects, only heavier. The muscle of the title track and closer One Step Too Far, Corrosion of Conformity groove of El Busta and Gargantuan March, and the overdriven solos on each track, with no mellow moments, make the disc a future classic in the stoner genre. The only problem is that at 34 minutes the album is really too short, and with the quality of the material there’s no real sign that the band are without ideas as there are no weak links here.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Quick.Play Reviews, Stoner, Fu Manchu