''Superjudge'' is the second full-length 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 on April 6, 1993. It is the first Monster Magnet album to feature lead guitarist

Ed Mundell Edward Mundell is an American rock guitarist known for his space rock 1970's inspired sound. From 1992 to 2010, he was the lead guitarist for stoner rock band Monster Magnet, contributing to eight albums in total. As of 2024, Mundell contribut ...

, who replaced founding member John McBain in 1992. The tracks "Twin Earth" and "Face Down" were released as singles with accompanying music videos.

Overview

''Superjudge'' was Monster Magnet's second full-length album, after ''

Spine of God ''Spine of God'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Monster Magnet, 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 ro ...

'' (in addition to the

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

'' and the EP '' Tab''). Notably, ''Superjudge'' was the band's debut on a major label via

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

. It was recorded and mixed by Steve Rosenthal at New York's "The Magic Shop" studio in October, 1992, with all original material composed by the band's lead vocalist

Dave Wyndorf David Albert Wyndorf (born October 28, 1956) is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Monster Magnet. He is the band's frontman, songwriter and only remaining founding member. Monster Magn ...

. The album fared poorly commercially, largely due to its release coinciding with the advent of the

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 ...

era, which ultimately resulted in a dramatic decline in the popularity of heavy metal in general. Though a commercial disappointment after its release, ''Superjudge'' has since become an influential album in the

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 ...

genre."Monster Magnet - Superjudge"
web2carz.com. Retrieved on December 26, 2013. The album includes covers of

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

's "Evil" (utilizing an arrangement used by the band

Cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

on their 1971 cover of the song), and

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

's "Brainstorm" from their 1972 album, ''

Doremi Fasol Latido ''Doremi Fasol Latido'' is a 1972 album by English space rock band Hawkwind. Recorded at Rockfield Studios and released on United Artists Records, it was their third album since their debut, ''Hawkwind'', in 1970. It reached No. 14 on the UK alb ...

''.

Music and lyrics

''Superjudge'' is overall heavier than the band's debut album ''

'', and makes use of less vocal effects. The album incorporates elements of

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

, heavy metal,

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. According to Wyndorf, ''Superjudge'' began as something of a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, but the only surviving part is the band's cover of

's " Evil (Is Going On)". Also according to Wyndorf, "For a while, we were thinking of doing a total

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

record, old Ten Years After stuff and old Howlin' Wolf stuff," Wyndorf says. "But we couldn't pull it off. It didn't sit right with us, so we kept 'Evil' and a couple others, but only 'Evil' made it to the tape." The album's lyrics make references to various sci-fi topics, with Wyndorf saying he writes "ambiguous and coded" lyrics because if he didn't, "I'd get bored singing them after three gigs." "The songs I like aren't explained," he says. "You can try to figure them out. I write stream-of-consciousness and I don't rewrite much. A lot of times, I'll have one foot in reality-something going on in Belgium or whatever-and the other in what I wish could happen-planets, spaceships-and try to fit them together and make sense out of it."

Track listing

Personnel

;Monster Magnet *

– guitar, vocals, producer *

– lead guitar * Joe Calandra – bass * Jon Kleiman – drums ;Additional musicians * Tim Cronin – "Mountain of Judgement" according to album's liner notes ;Technical staff and artwork * Steve Rosenthal – mixing * Edward Douglas – assistant engineer * Joe Warda – assistant engineer * Bogdan Hernik – assistant engineer *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chr ...

– mastering * Rich Frankel – art direction * Rob Leecock – cover "Bull God" painting * Michael Lavine – photography

References

{{Authority control Monster Magnet albums 1993 albums A&M Records albums