I have professed my love for stoner/fuzz/doom/acid rock and metal before, with bands such as Dead Earth Politics, The Sword, Baroness, and the recent releases from Orchid, naming but a few of my picks. Falling in line with the absolute heavy, fuzzed out tones of these spectacular bands is the group called Truckfighters. Just the name alone made me want to give them a listen, and no disappointment was to be found. Beginning to end, these boys know exactly how a fuzz pedal works, and make theirs work overtime on Universe.

Truckfighters has a closeness to the sound of Baroness for much of the album, in both playing style and the tone with which they lay down some buzzing licks. The album has a very laid back feel, fitting for the type of music, and is quite the atmos’ setter. I have been spinning this album while I work on a few other projects, and I constantly find myself hearing new things across each song. Whether it be a particularly sweet riff that isn’t really high in the mix, or maybe just hearing everything together in an absent minded way, the album continues to be a great one to return to more and more often. A really awesome addition to the album is the ending track, Mastodont, which is pretty much an ode to you know who. It carries off everything amazing about the inspiration band, and could have been a single by itself. At almost 14 minutes, the song will keep you entertained for a while. Listening to it right now, I keep tapping my foot and stopping in the middle of sentences to listen to it. so maybe not all are great for just working music……

I really do love when a band gets this good at this particular brand of music. I hold this sound, in personal estimation, very near perfect when they aren’t fuzzing out every other instrument with the guitar, or everything sounds so turned down i have to crank it to hear or understand ANY part of the song. Orchid and Devil are some favorites who play a similar style to Truckfighters, and they are always on my most listened to section of my ipod. They had someone who knew what they should sound like mixing/producing, and they shine bright as the sun in their field for it.

If you’re a fan of any form of throwback metal, stoner, doom, or just some fuzzy rock, Truckfighters will give you a great bang for the buck on any of their albums, but especially start your day with Universe.