Monster Magnet Announce "Test Patterns: Vol. 1"

10/04/22 | [dcraley] | General News

Originally formed in Red Bank, New Jersey, MONSTER MAGNET began as a whole different....monster than the world would come to know in the late 90's. The core of Dave Wyndorf, John McBain and Tim Cronin got their start with two demo tapes Forget About Life, I’m High On Dope and I’m Stoned, What Ya Gonna Do About It? that left little up for interpretation.

Those two demos formed the base of what would become their pivotal Spine Of God album from 1991 and the 25…Tab EP, which featured the mesmerizing 32-minute opus itself, "Tab".

Long considered to be the true essence of Monster Magnet’s early psychedelic voyages, "Tab" is finally returning to earth’s stratosphere with the release of Test Patterns: Vol.1, available November 11 via God Unknown Records.

Test Patterns: Vol. 1 features a 2021 remix of "Tab" by John McBain, alongside the original demo, recorded in 1988 and then released on the aforementioned Forget About Life, I’m High On Dope in 1989.

“When Magnet started, John and I worked in record stores in Red Bank and Dave worked in the comic bookstore and we made a lot of tapes for each other,” recalls Tim Cronin. “A lot of ‘check this shit out’ kind of stuff…Hawkwind, early UFO, Amon Duul, Can, Skullflower, Morgen, Loop, Crystalized Movements, early Alice Cooper, Walking Seeds, Butthole Surfers, Spacemen 3. When we recorded the first demo and got to "Tab", we just beat the shit out of it until it became heavy, noisy, weird, mean and either too long or not long enough, depending on your mood. Everything we wanted in a song (at least everything I wanted in a song), punishingly psychedelic. Jersey Shore krautrock.”

Pre-order the record RIGHT HERE from God Unknown Records.

Test Patterns: Vol. 1 will be available in two 12” vinyl editions - a deluxe gatefold sleeve with acid blotter inner sleeve and a special Rough Trade Super Deluxe edition with gatefold sleeve, limited to 300 copies with 4 postcards, blotter inner sleeve, ‘orange sunshine’ colored vinyl and alternative cover artwork.

Gotten Out By

Dan Craley

Dan started Getting It Out back in 2018 as a stand alone podcast. He’s been writing for music websites for over a decade and finally decided to start his own. Now living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with his wife and kids, he briefly sang for Baltimore’s Pleasant Living.