Fu Manchu: King Of The Road : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Like Queens of the Stone Age -- the artistic kings of the Southern California "desert rock" subgenre -- Fu Manchu concentrate on straight-ahead, heavy stoner rock. But where the Queens prefer slippery indirection, Fu Manchu favor good-time rhythms and in-your-face hooks. For their fifth album, they have crafted a noisy suite about cars. They start with "Hell on Wheels," where frontman Scott Hill contends that "Hell on wheels/Is no big deal" over big, elastic guitar riffs. On the equally awesome "Over the Edge," he demands, "We strapped ourselves in tight. . . . Now shut the doors and hit the gas." The rest of the songs -- from the epic itch of the title masterwork to the spongy groove of "Blue Tile Fever" -- have just as much kitschy splendor. Meet the ultimate desert-rock car album. (RS 836)

JAMES HUNTER