Artist: Fu Manchu
Title: “We Must Obey”
Label: Liquor & Poker Music
Release Date: 2/20/2007
Genre: Stoner/Fuzz Rock
Rating: 4/5

When you are looking for a pure definition of Hard Rock with a wide variety of other influences then you need look no further than Orange County’s Fu-Manchu. They have been together over a dozen years and this album is their tenth, but the first on the Liquor & Poker Music imprint of Century Media Records. The groups lineup consists of Scott Hill (vocals/guitars), Bob Balch (guitars), Brad Davis (bass) and Scott Reeder (drums) and the minute you begin playing the CD you will not only hear but you will feel the strong riffing that is happening on every single track. It is a little bit Punk at times, but also has that Stoner and Doom feel crunch in the background and together forms the unique “Fuzz Rock” for which they are most known. The music is totally in gear with the kind of stuff that Monster Magnet and Corrosion of Conformity are doing and should appeal to their fan base as well. “We Must Obey” throttles the listener like a punk version of Motorhead while “Between The Lines” has a very intense, almost Metal vibe to it “Lesson” has that resonant Black Sabbath groove going on and this leads you to the oddly placed cover of The Cars “Moving In Stereo”. I thought this was a unique track for them to do, as the original is so strong on the keyboards while there is nothing of the sort in Fu-Manchu. Essentially, if you have ever wanted to hear a Stoner/Doom rendition of a Cars track then here is your chance. Do not laugh, its very good actually.
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