Sixty Watt Shaman

Seed of Decades (Spitfire)
by Brian Varney

No surprises here if you’ve been following the recent ’70s rawk trend; lotsa early-to-mid ’70s classic rock with early Metallica whomp. The singer’s voice – one of many using the throaty, slightly raspy voicing popularized for this generation by Layne Staley and Eddie Vedder – kinda gets on my nerves, but not enough to turn me off this record.

It’s a pretty solid rock record, if not a particularly original one. Still, they confidently and accurately achieve what they set out to do. If you like both Led Zeppelin and the first two Alice in Chains records (and, really, who that’s worth talking to doesn’t?), this’ll probably tickle you to death. Having said that, I guess it kinda bothers me that I can’t really think of anything positive to say about the record or the band. Nothing negative, either. Nothing much of anything, really. There are a bunch of other bands scouting this same territory, so you’ve gotta be really good to stand out from the pack, and Sixty Watt Shaman just aren’t that good. A better example of Zep-influenced thud is The Want on Southern Lord.
(101 Bay Ave. Hicksville, NY 11801)