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The Black Widows – Revenge of the Black Widows (Vital Gesture)

Revenge of the Black Widows
30 January 2013

Guitarist Tony Fate‘s long-running instrumental project the Black Widows has released a couple of albums that filter surf music through a lens of power chord punk rock. Revenge of the Black Widows follows suit, but adds a few new wrinkles to the pitch-black suit. The Dick Dale-on-bad coffee vibe still rumbles, but there’s a lot more going on than just angry takes on “Miserlou.” “Dr. Cyclops” and “Evil Space Monster” crank up the Detroit power rock, “Stampede” puts a Black spin on country & western “Orange Squeezer” gives up the soundtrack funk and “Hitch Hikin’” brings R&B-fueled frat rock to a boil. Best of all are tunes like “Burned Comanche”, “Monkey’s Hideout” and “The Widowmaker,” in which multiple elements tie together seamlessly through the magic of the riff. Close listening reveals more subtlety than is first noticeable, but the visceral impact of tunes like “Octopus” and “Rebel SST” satisfies without prejudice. Fate has proven himself a master tunesmith in previous bands the BellRays and the Mighty Grasshoppers, and he brings his distinctive blend of melody and aggression to the tracks here. It’d be easy to make a case for Revenge of the Black Widows being a major artistic statement, but you’ll be too busy rocking your air guitar to bother.

http://theblackwidows.net