Lost Goat
Equator
Man’s Ruin
While some bands merely chug, others do so with a purpose. Man’s Ruin, headed by concert poster art guru Frank Kozik, has steadily built a roster of bands that do the latter – and well. With everyone from Angel Rot to Croatan to Iron Monkey, Man’s Ruin is a veritable pipe packed full of the most hellacious weed. After you’ve cleared that massive hit of theirs, you might as well as inhale Lost Goat’s Equator .
Juggling disparate (and then not-so) elements of Raging Slab, early Ozzy, Fu Manchu, and Foghat, Lost Goat packs a mighty wallop that may induce many to first scratch their heads and wonder where they’ve heard such fare, give up on that, and then shake their manes to Equator ‘s Armageddon-boogie style. And boogie’s just the half of it: that’s not accounting for the whiskey-soaked guitar solos, the perpetually multi-tracked vocals (ala Ozzy), and the healthy dosage of doom ripe for getting your stone on. For that late-night toke or five, give praise to the Goat’s rhythm section, whose barrelhouse beats evoke what early Blue Cheer would do with punk rock (and we’re not talking Black Flag, circa ‘84/’85, either). Alas, like so many other Man’s Ruin releases, Equator ‘s chock full of loud-ass guitars, lots ‘o hair ‘n’ sweat, a glazed disposition, and a general disdain for most things “good” – all fine in my book.
Man’s Ruin Records, 610 22nd Street #302, San Francisco, CA 94107; http://www.mansruin.com
