''Spine of God'' is the debut studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Monster Magnet Monster Magnet is an American rock music, rock band formed in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf (vocals and guitar), John McBain (musician), John McBain (guitar), and Tim Cronin (vocals and drums). The band has since undergone severa ...

, released in Europe in 1991 and in the United States the following year. The album represents one of the earliest examples of the emerging 1990s sub-genre of

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

. ''Spine of God'' did not perform well commercially upon its initial release, but was praised by critics and would later be considered a major influence on stoner rock bands. The song "Medicine" was released as a single with accompanying music video.

Overview

''Spine of God'' features a cover of

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved pea ...

's "Sin's a Good Man's Brother". It was re-released in March 2006 on Steamhammer records with new artwork, new liner notes, compressed dynamic range, and a previously unreleased demo version of "Ozium" included as a bonus track.

Critical reception

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' called the album "a mixture of grunge, metal, and late '60s acid rock, loaded with feedback noise, and more than a little depravity". ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', in its December 1991 issue, referred to the album as "a total KO" while comparing it favorably to the work of

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

rock icons of the day such as

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

, Tad, and

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

; it was listed on ''

''s "Ten Best Albums of the Year You Didn't Hear" for 1991.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

* Dave Wyndorf – guitar, vocals * John McBain – guitar * Joe Calandra – bass * Jon Kleiman – drums * Tim Cronin – (credited as " Dope/Lights/Center of the Universe")

Production

* Dave Wyndorf – producer * John McBain – producer * Stacy "Springdale" Phelon – engineer

Art and design

* Rob Leecock – bullgod design * Samantha Muccini – photography * Reed Linkletter Jr. – art direction * Alexander von Wieding – reissue artwork

References

{{Authority control Monster Magnet albums 1991 debut albums Caroline Records albums