Space Probe Taurus - "Hallucination Generation/ Acid Worship Demos" (1998 Sweden)
From Aural Innovations #7 (July 1999)
These are the band's 2nd and 3rd demos. The band's sound is very fuzzed out and heavy, reminiscent of Fu Manchu meets Blue Cheer meets Monster Magnet but with a much more effected vocal track, like on the early Monster Magnet material or like Tractor on the Powertrip CD. Hallucination Generation has five songs of "Stoner" rock material. After an intro spoken word piece on LSD, the band blasts into Calling Cosmos, where I swear they sampled Dave Wyndorf saying "You gotta do what you got to do". Superfly Freedom and Old Time Mountain High Gonna Ride Forever Motorcycle (taken from the Movie The Wild Angels) closes this demo and is a bouncy groovy number with a more 60's feel to it. Burnt Butterfly and Fireball 500 start the Acid Worship demo and are pretty ripping numbers and the guitar riffs are excellent at times. Lung Dance is heavily influenced by Superjudge-era Monster Magnet, but impresses on its own. Insect City ends this second demo, with some more spaced out sounds very much in the Monster Magnet vein. The band might be a little too close to that old Monster Magnet style for some, but for others they'll be glad that someone has taken up where Monster Magnet started; and where they went off the track, Space Probe Taurus continues the line. The band have recorded Second time Around by Blue Cheer for the upcoming Blue Cheer Tribute LP on Black Widow Records. Also the band will take a song from their first demo, Dancing Jupiter, a highly Hawkwind influenced number for the a Swedish CD-Single compilation.
For more information you can email Space Probe Taurus at Ola.sjoberg@mbox302.swipnet.se.
Reviewed by Scott Heller