If I only got to hear the opener Mary Jane is My Only Friend off Tweak’d Out, Strung Up & Redlined I would have dismissed Eighteen Wheels Burning once and for all. Out of tune guitars, monotonous moaning vocals, jangly clanking production did not attract me. Garage attitude is fine, but garage quality is not. Straightforward rock obviously got its proper place under the sun, but that particular track was a turnoff.

The good thing then is that the record got nine more songs which would be absolutely worth your while if “groovy”, “trippy” and “jamming” are key words in your metal/rock vernacular. Two immediate follow-ups to Mary Jane, Topless and Tears of the Moon, redeemed my feelings, and that is where I have started spinning the album ever since. Topless has particular trippiness, dipped in acid, coming out in droves, bass guitar covering ears with warm blanket, amps and distortion pedals ruling the world, alongside shifting percussive patterns, long instrumental jams running circles around the listener. This mixture of early 70s Black Sabbath, Abdullah and The Want reaches its spiritual high on the aforementioned Topless, The Wheeler, AMA, with Tears of the Moon adding a cowbell immortalized on an SNL sketch featuring Will Ferrell.

As the album goes along you understand the purpose of these straight cut riffs better, vocals, tubed out (Grand National) or under the influence (AMA), fitting in places where lengthy instrumental wildness does not grab all of the attention. The band knows how to have fun, with firm stoner’n’roll (I just invented a term) Cockblocked. At the same time, some of the melodies definitely remind me of some all-time heavy music classics, as Mobscene is Breaking the Law without the main hook or vocal melody, and Third Reich Trucker has shades of Jesus Christ Superstar. These can, of course, be products of my wild imagination, but King of the Ian Hill, dedicated to Judas Priest bassplayer is certainly a ballsy reference.

Without ever seeing Eighteen Wheels Burning live, I can almost guarantee that the guys would kill in that situation. Where others may feel a bit uncomfortable away from the posh and protection of the studio, Eighteen Wheel Burning can’t possibly lose any polish since they have none in the first place. I won’t wait breathlessly for the next release from this band, but if their stoner truck rolls through my neighborhood bar I could see myself in attendance, enjoying this greatly, especially after a couple of strong drinks.