Dead Planet
Mondo Generator has been around since 1997 but you may know lead singer, Nick Oliveri, better from his days with Queens Of The Stone Age. Nick is one of the founding members of that popular rock group and heavily contributed to their album, Songs For The Deaf among others. He parted ways with them in 2004 after a falling out with frontman Josh Homme.
Mondo Generator’s latest album, Dead Planet, sounds like what Queens would have sounded like if Nick was still there providing a heavier influence. Their new album could be best described as simply that, a heavier Queens of the Stone Age. They do mix it up fairly well though with Mr. Oliveri changing vocals styles on a few songs. Some are straight up gritty and rockin while some are more of a grooving sit back and relax rock style. The kind where you bob your head but don’t get your ears blown out. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Quite a few songs on Dead Planet clock in under 3 minutes, with a few even being under 2 minutes. They hit hard and leave before they even have a chance to get stale. The song ‘Basket Case’ is a great example of this, as is ‘All Systems Go’. They start, rock your face, and then end with you still pumped to hear the next track.
The only negative with Dead Planet is the slower songs. They seem weaker lyrically and musically usually longer in length and getting kind of boring by the time they end. Nick and the boys should stick to the heavy stuff because with his vocal style, they can pull off the heavy rock’n’roll with ease. They really try to mix it up a little too much, constantly switching back and forth from heavy to mellow probably turning away some of the fans of each style.
If you like the Queens Of The Stone Age song ‘You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire’ and wonder why they haven’t had something as hard rockin as that. The reason is because Nick Oliveri is creating that type of stuff here with Mondo Generator instead. Well at least on half the album he is but its chock full of 17 tracks to try out.
